Finding Love
by daisyscrapper
Summary: Mitchell and Daniel are temporarily working in Atlantis. While there, they're placed on a team with Ronon and Jennifer. Mitchell finds himself drawn to the doctor, despite the bad luck she tends has off world. Mitchell/Keller, little Cadman/Lorne pre-ship
1. Chapter 1

"Dr. Keller to the infirmary. Stat," Woolsey's words rang through her communicator. Jennifer halted her run on one of Atlantis' piers and turned to make her way back to the infirmary. It was one of her scheduled days off. Dressed in Earth clothes, she did not appear like her regular, professional self. As acting Chief Medical Officer on Atlantis, she rarely was out of uniform. Injuries, even on her day off, were a regular occurrence.

She hoped it wasn't SGA-1. Again. Turning on a channel, she directly contacted the commander. "Sir, I'm about two minutes away. Can I get a brief report on my way?"

There was a few moments where silence echoed the radio. "Yes. SGA-1 came in hot. Ronon has minor injuries. Rodney's has a few severe burns from some kind of weapon they fired on our team." He paused. "Doctor, from what I can tell, Sheppard's bad." She increased her speed. "Get here fast."

"Yes, sir. Keller, out." She flew through the last stretch, making her way to the infirmary. Shouting at the growing vigil of men and women, not all military, who had gathered just outside the infirmary. "Let me through. Now!"

The infirmary was chaos. Ronon, refusing to be treated by any of the doctors, was trying to make his way over to the corner of the room. Rodney was hysterical and screaming from a burn wound that looked painful but not serious. Blood was streaming out of his pant leg. One of the nurses cursed as she slipped on it. Elevating his leg and cutting away the material, the nurse shouted over to am onlooking marine to get the floor cleaned up.

Seeing another doctor take position next to the nurse, she took Woolsey's warning about Sheppard seriously and let the two of them deal with Rodney's injury. Following Ronon's frantic gaze, she ran to the corner where several nurses and a doctor surrounded Colonel John Sheppard.

* * *

The control room, despite the medical emergency currently going on, had to still prepare to greet their scheduled visitors from Earth. When the worm hole opened, Major Evan Lorne stepped down from control room to welcome Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell and Dr. Daniel Jackson. His mind was still on his commanding officer and whether he would make it through the surgery. Lorne's ear piece was still in place in case he received an update on Sheppard.

The two men from Earth emerged through the wormhole. Almost instantly, he almost smiled at their different reactions. While Cameron had a relaxed, amused expression on despite hauling several bags, Jackson looked around in wonder, almost in a child-like trance. Mouth agape, he also trudged through heavy laden with military issued canvas bags.

"Sir," Evan immediately stood at attention. Then looking at Jackson, he held out his hand. "Major Evan Lorne. We've met once or twice at the SGC." He turned to face both men. "Commander Woolsey apologizes for not meeting you both in person, but he's in the infirmary. SGA-1 team came back pretty banged up."

Instantly, Cameron looked concerned. "Anything serious?"

Nodding, Evan began showing them the way. No one had directly ordered him to show the guests to any specific room, so he brought them both to where he wanted to be. On their way to the infirmary, he explained the current situation.

"It looks like Colonel Sheppard was critical, sir." Evan's worry about his CO was evident to Cameron. "Dr. McCay looked like he had a painful injury as well. Ronon was cut up a little. To be quite honest, sir, nothing takes down Ronon," the corners of the major's mouth turned upward for a brief moment.

"Ah. Yeah, I've read about Ronon in mission reports," Cameron drawled. "Sounds like our Teal'c."

"Is that all you brought?" Lorne questioned the men.

The two looked at each other. "No. The _Daedalus _brought the rest last week. Should be waiting for us."

They rounded a corner and were met with dozens of military and civilian occupants of Atlantis. Both men dropped their stuff off in a corner and joined the rest of a group of people standing outside the infirmary doors.

* * *

"Team, give me an update." Jennifer pushed through the women.

One of her doctors looked relieved that she was there. He noted she had not even had time to change. As she approached and leaned towards Sheppard, she was instantly spotted with blood seeping through his thigh.

"Doctor Keller. Thank goodness." He began. Although he was almost her equal, he had great respect for the young woman. "Approximately five minutes ago, Colonel Sheppard's team came through. There was heavy fire on the planet. Sheppard's the worst. Bullet to the thigh." He lowered his voice. "I think it nicked an artery. We can't stop the bleeding."

After a brief look at the wound he exposed from the clean towels he had pushed onto Sheppard's thigh, she agreed. "Prep surgery now. I'm scrubbing up."

Jennifer ran to change into scrubs. She threw everything on without closing the door to the woman's room. Running to scrub up, she yelled over to a nurse treating Rodney. "Marie, update on McCay."

"It's a nasty burn, but nothing that won't heal in a few weeks. We're treating it now, doctor." Marie, trying to calm down Rodney's yells, sent her a look. "I'm about to sedate him." Sensing that Rodney was about to hyperventilate, she gave Marie a quick nod.

"Doctor, we also have four boys who Sheppard insisted on returning with in a side room. It didn't seem like any of them were critical from initial reports, but we need someone to confirm that," Marie yelled.

Jennifer yelled for a nurse to check on the boys and scrubbed up. She flew through the doors to the operating room they had set up on Atlantis. Hands steady, she nodded at her team and began working. Once the bullet had been removed, she had to quickly go in and repair the damage. Sheppard's vitals kept steady throughout the surgery. After the repair work was done, Jennifer allowed herself to take a deep breath of relief. Giving the nurses post-op instructions, she pulled off her gloves and returned to the main room.

* * *

Cameron recognized some of the people standing around him, but most seemed unfamiliar to him. No one was speaking. He made his way over to Commander Woolsey and noted the man's worried expression. He relaxed, slightly, to greet Cameron and Daniel. Lorne, anxious to hear any news, asked Woolsey for an update.

"Dr. Keller is operating on him right now," Woolsey stated. "We're waiting for someone to let us know how the surgery went."

At that second, a small woman emerged from the infirmary dressed in scrubs. Blood covered her in more than one area. She looked hot and began pulling off the cap covering her hair, revealing a bouncy ponytail. A nurse, maybe? Cameron was too far away to see her face. He couldn't hear what she said, but Woolsey's smile gave everyone a huge sigh of relief.

"All right people, it sounds like we'll be stuck with Colonel Sheppard. He's expected to make a full recovery." Woolsey thanked the woman and she returned to the infirmary.

For the first time, he noticed a room off of the infirmary. Four young boys were sitting on stretchers, covered in dirt and mud. Two of them were laying down and were getting looked at by a nurse. The younger, smaller ones were crying softly, still frightened from the world they had just escaped from. He wandered over to the second one laying down, noticing he was quiet. His breaths were ragged. Cameron noticed the dark marks and swelling around his neck. The boy's eyes were closed, but it was clear he was not getting enough oxygen.

Swiveling his head, he saw the same young woman who spoke to Woolsey come in and speak with the nurse tending to the other boy. She no longer was wearing the scrubs and instead had on a long sleeve t-shirt and running pants. Her high was in a high, spiky pony tail, making her look like she just finished a high school cross country event.

"Hey!" He sent them a frantic look. "Get a doctor in here. This boy is barely breathing."

Barely acknowledging the unfamiliar face, Jennifer saw the boy's coloring turn blue before her eyes. He had stopped breathing. Seeing that he had a severe neck injury, she dreaded doing the procedure she knew had to be done. Shouting for the nurse to grab a straw, she pinned Cameron with a look. "You. Hold him down. We only have three minutes until he's brain dead." She yanked a drawer open next to him and removed a small scalpel. "Don't let him go until I tell you to."

Jennifer paused to steady her hand. She swabbed the boy's neck and removed the direct with an alcohol pad. Taking a deep breath, she felt for the cricothyroid membrane.

Blanching, Cameron looked at her. "You're not about to do what I think you're going to do, are you?" Looking over at the other nurse, who was returning with a straw, he yelled at her. "Are you sure about this? Can't anyone find a doctor? We need help."

The nurse shot him a dirty look. "You're standing next to the CMO, idiot."

Surprised, he looked back at Jennifer. He didn't have time to apologize, or think, for that matter. The young doctor had placed a small cut going up and down on the boy's throat. Working quickly, she carefully pulled the skin apart. Blood began to flow from the boy's neck, making Cameron's legs week. The boy, still conscious but not breathing at this point, began to thrash. Cameron closed his eyes for a moment and pulled his body down over the kid's torso, holding his arms by his side so they didn't knock the doctor's hand.

Meanwhile, Jennifer ignored everything around her and made a second small cut into the boy's cricothryroid membrane. Dropping the knife, she called to the nurse.

"Hand me the straw. Now." Looking at the clock, she knew the boy only had about a minute left. Once the straw was in her hand, she placed the straw into the opening. Instantly, the boy's gasped for breath. Breathing a sigh of relief, Jennifer sighed.

"Never a dull moment..." she muttered. "OK. Let's get him into the OR so we can get this cleaned up and put in a real trach." The nurse, taking over by holding the straw, yelled for another nurse to transport the boy. A marine came in and gathered the other kids together to get checked out in the infirmary, now that things had calmed down. Together, they left, leaving Cameron alone in the room with Jennifer.

Too tired to play small talk, she turned and threw out her gloves into the trash can. Breathing for the first time without some medical emergency in the past two hours, she ran the cold water over her hands and scrubbed them clean. She splashed cool water over her face and wiped it dry before turning to the man in the room.

One look at the man had her rushing over to his side. His face had turned a sickly, pale green. "Sit!" When he refused, she pushed him into the chair. "Now." She shoved his head between his legs and instructed him to take deep breaths. Turning to the cabinet, she opened a can of apple juice and put it into his hands.

Slowly raising his head, he groaned. "Sorry. I'm usually not like this." He took a sip of juice, feeling the blood return to his head. "But that was just... probably one of the most intense things I've seen in a long time."

Deciding to give the man a break, she sat and gave him a smile. "It probably didn't help that it was a young boy." _Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell _it read on his tag_. _She had heard of the name from various reports she gets from the SGC. She glanced over at the door as Evan came in the room, she nodded towards the infirmary. "Are things calming down in there? McCay sedated yet?"

Lorne gave a puzzled expression at Mitchell, wondering why he looked so green. "No one will let me go in yet."

Understanding the need to see his CO, Jennifer stood up. Grabbing a juice for herself, she popped it open and jerked her head towards Cameron. "If you can make sure the major doesn't make any sudden moves, I'll go check on him for you." Sending a smirk at Sheppard, she walked out of the room.

"Actually, doc," Evan called out after her. "This is Lieutenant Colonel Cam-"

"Save it, major," Cameron called out as he heard her laugh in the hallway. "I deserved it."


	2. Chapter 2

Finishing the rest of his juice, Cameron threw the can over the major's shoulder into the bin.

"So, let's summarize my first 20 minutes on Atlantis." Cameron decided to lay down on the bed had moved to when someone had come in for a chair. "I hear that the military leader is critical. I see a young kid stop breathing. I get to assist in a tracheotomy." Evan looked a little ill himself when he heard that. "I insulted the CMO by thinking she was only a nurse and questioned if she knew what she was doing. And then... I almost pass out and throw up on her."

Evan snorted and then caught himself. "Sorry, sir." He wiped the smile on his face. "I'm sure Jen had forgotten about it already."

The use of the CMO's first name had Cameron wondering if he had also just insulted her boyfriend. Wondering if her and Lorne were together, something probably unusual to hear about in the SGC but common in the isolated post of Atlantis, he found himself curious about the young pretty doctor.

"Actually, no, she hasn't." Jen said from the doorway. Ignoring Mitchell, she walked over and placed hand on Evan's arm. Immediately he thought something was wrong, but then she smiled. "John's going to be fine. And I gave Marie the OK for you and SGA-1 to visit." Evan squeezed her hand and made is way out of the room. "One at a time, Ev," she warned, following him.

"Dr. Keller," Cameron called out. She stopped and turned. "I'm sorry about not knowing who you were. I just didn't expect the CMO to be so young. I should be used to it," he went on. "Landry's daughter isn't too much older, but just looks it. It's just you looked like you were in-" he stopped, knowing he was digging a deeper hole.

Amused as his rambling, Jennifer shrugged. "High school? Yeah, I'm used to it." Pausing at the door, she smiled. "You forgot one thing."

Cameron grimaced, thinking he did something else bad. "There's more?"

Leaning on the door, she nodded. "You save that boy's life. One more minute and he would have been gone if you hadn't noticed him."

Turning, went back to the infirmary. Daniel, who had been looking around for Cameron, stepped into the room.

"Oh, there you are." Daniel looked at him. "Why are you laying down? Did Dr. Keller need people to donate blood?"

Rolling his eyes, Cameron decided to just close his eyes for a minute. "Nope. Long story. " Hearing Daniel settle in a chair, he decided to stay where he was for the moment. "So, you know the doctor?"

"What? Oh," Daniel spoke up. "Yeah. She did some training at the SGC and I saw met up with her a few times. She was nice. Smart, shy, from what I remember... kind of jumpy, like she was overwhelmed at the whole situation. Very sweet. Kind. Kept to herself but was friendly. Think her first name is Jennifer. "

Cameron snorted. "Yeah, big no on the shy thing. And not jumpy, at least anymore. I think I may have started off on the wrong foot with her." Thinking back to how she had saved that kids life, minutes after saving Sheppard's from what he could tell, disagreed. "She definitely kept a steady hand since we've been here." He filled Daniel in with what just happened before he arrived. "You should have seen how quick on her feet she was. I mean, I've seen just about everything, but that was incredible."

Daniel, studying the man's face, had a ghost of a smile play over his lips. It was certainly going to be an interesting visit to Atlantis.

* * *

The next day, Sheppard's health seemed to be improving. Dr. Keller had kept his visitors to a minimum on the first day, but allowed a few visitors to see for themselves that their leader was OK.

Woolsey requested to speak to Sheppard when he was awake. Not wanting to wear out the man, Jennifer insisted on keeping the visit to ten minutes. Woolsey made his way around the sheet they had pulled to separate Sheppard from a few other patients.

"Sir," John said, sitting up fully in his bed. "Thanks for coming." He looked restless. "I'm bored out of my mind. Any chance you can spring me soon?"

Giving the colonel a smile, Woolsey shook his head. "I don't think that would be wise, John. And I think Dr. Keller outranks my decision in those matters."

Disappointed, but still happy he had a visitor, John looked at him. "So," he said. "What are we going to do? Keller said I'm out for at least a month with my injuries. I'm hoping to shave off a few days or at least a week on her estimates. But in the mean time... what happens to my team? We had several missions planned in the next few weeks."

Sighing, Woolsey shook his head. "We'll deal with it, colonel. You just focus on getting better."

Frustrated, John said "But what is going to happen? Should we combine a few teams up? Lorne's team is split up right now between vacation time and an injury."

Woolsey sat back, about to give his opinion, when another visitor came around the sheet. "Ah, Colonel Mitchell."

Mitchell walked over to Sheppard, reaching for his hand. "Sir, I don't think we've met before. But I've read an awful lot about you in the reports sent to the SGC."

Assessing the man, Sheppard read his uniform. "Mitchell. Lieutenant Colonel. SGA-1. Yeah, we've heard about you out here too. Sounds like you and your team are kicking some major Ori-"

Hearing a throat clear, Woolsey looked at Sheppard with a warning. Over his shoulder stood Dr. Keller, who did not seem pleased about two visitors keeping Sheppard from resting.

"Gentlemen," she began. "While I'm happy that Sheppard is at least not whining about being bored with you here, he's lost a lot of blood. He needs his rest," her eyes moved over to Mitchell. "You, again. Who are you? And who let you in knowing that Sheppard already had a visitor?"

Mitchell, groaning at again getting in the doctor's bad graces, said "Sorry, I'll go."

"Doctor Keller," Sheppard said smoothly. "Have you two met? This is Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell. According to SGC mission reports, he gets banged up more than us." Sheppard looked back at him. John knew if she kicked him out, Woolsey would be next. And then he would be staring at the sheets again. "Seriously, you really get the snot kicked out of you. First you were shot down by Anubis. You landed a pretty long hospital stay there. Then the Sodan warrior dude. Where do you get that kind of bad luck?"

"I'm just blessed with it." Looking at the doctor, he grinned. "And hopefully it won't continue in this galaxy. I have a feeling you guys keep the doctor pretty busy here."

"Colonel," Jennifer warned Sheppard. 'You're not sidetracking me as well as you think you are. Five more minutes. All of you." Walking to her office, she sat down and send a warning look to Sheppard to communicate she was watching him.

Sheppard immediately picked up on the vibes between the young doctor and Mitchell. Watching him closely, Cameron was careful not to look at her too long, as if he was trying to not tempt himself.

Turning to Woolsey, he grinned. "Dang it, I almost got away with it. She's good." He sighed. "Anyways, what plans do you have with Mitchell here? Maybe he can take my spot."

"Colonel, do you not read any of my memo's?" Woolsey said exasperated. "Of course you don't. Colonel Mitchell is here because his own team is in a current hiatus."

"Yeah, hiatus," Mitchell snorted. "Vala is visiting some girlfriends off world. Sam's away doing research. Teal'C is doing Teal'C things with his people. And since Daniel is the resident Ancient expert, the IOA sent him here to help with some research. So I put in a request to join him rather than sit around at the SGC for the next few months."

Woolsey picked up for him. "We thought the colonel could be of assistance to us in different areas on Atlantis. Training, weapons. Plus, the IOA and SGC owed him a favor."

"Yeah, I heard you are into following orders. I never did quite get the hang of that," John grinned.

Mitchell laughed. "I couldn't tell from the mission reports, Sheppard." Glancing back at Dr. Keller, who was looking over at them impatiently, he made it way to leave. "Speaking of following orders, I'm in enough trouble with your CMO to add to it. See you around, Sheppard. Mr. Woolsey." Giving a quick salute to the men and quick look to Jennifer, he made his way to the doors.

Sheppard watched Jennifer's eyes follow him as he left. When she discovered Sheppard was watching her, she blushed and returned to his paperwork.

"I think I just earned you another few minutes," Sheppard said in a low voice to Woolsey. "But seriously, what about putting Mitchell in for me for awhile. Not that I enjoy having a replacement, but it would give Mitchell some off world experience in another galaxy and not put us behind. Ronon is cleared for missions already."

Woolsey cut him off. "But what about Rodney? We're going to have to pull a scientist on and someone military as well to round it out."

Thinking, Sheppard quickly turned back. "What about Daniel? I'm sure he reads all of Rodney's notes sent back to the SGC. And he has the training and experience in combat missions."

The commander moved to stand up, probably taking a cue from Jennifer who was making her way over to them. "Not a bad idea, Sheppard. I'll think about it."

"There's only one problem, sir," Sheppard, giving an evil grin, nodded at Jennifer. "Don't forget who was also assigned to go on those missions."

Woolsey stopped and his shoulders dragged a bit. "Ah. Well, we'll have the usual two teams standing by as usual for... ahem... that situation."

Sheppard laughed, earning Woolsey getting kicked out of the infirmary and a lecture from Jennifer.

* * *

Motioning for Lorne to sit next to him later that day, Sheppard lowered his voice. "I think our visiting colonel Mitchell may eventually work his way over and start sniffing around our doctor."

"Sniffing, sir?" Lorne asked.

"Come on, Lorne." John said. "Cut the 'sir' crap. No one can hear us."

Evan nodded. "As in, he's interested in her? Already?"

Both John and Evan did not look happy about that prospect. Wondering, Sheppard figured he better ask.

"So, you don't have feelings towards her in that way... right?" John asked.

"God, no," Evan said quickly. "Brotherly." Turning to Sheppard, he asked, "you?"

"Same," Sheppard said. "Very brotherly. Ronon is, too. He knocked out a marine for asking if she was available after a training session one day."

"So that's what happened. I was wondering about that."

John smiled. "She's just one of those girls you feel you need to protect from the big bad wolf. Innocent. Especially since she's the one who you constantly owe for keeping your ticker going or bleeding to death." He adjusted himself higher in the bed. "You guys have gotten pretty friendly. So that's why I was thinking-"

"No. She's actually just been one of the people here who have been easy to talk with. Wouldn't want to ruin that with complicated it any with a relationship, especially since you're pretty limited to people here," Evan grinned. "Well, I'll say this. If he does work his way to do that... he's going to have a lot to deal with."

"Keep an eye on him," John said. "And if he tries anything you don't like..."

Evan smiled. "I'll give him to Ronon to play with. Or push him over the south pier. Whichever will be more painful."

Suddenly, the screen was yanked open and Lieutenant Cadman walked in, shutting the screen behind her. "You both," she muttered, "are going to get your butts kicked." Remembering herself, she muttered. "Sirs." Not at all taking a respectful tone, she snarled at them. "All this time, I've been trying to set her up only to have the guys wig out and not ask her out. And to find out you've been scaring them away?"

Lorne, looking uncomfortable, backed away and she jabbed her finger into his uniform.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves," she hissed.

Sheppard, wincing at her anger, looked up innocently. "What happens if he hurts her?"

Laura waved her hand. "OK, well then you can do whatever you want to him. After me. If there's anything left." She grinned. "Sirs."


	3. Chapter 3

Sheppard was bored out of his mind. It was day three in the infirmary. The highlight of his day was when he was allowed to shower and get out of the bed he had been confined to since the surgery. He was driving the nurses mad. He overheard someone say that two nurses went to beg Keller to release him early. No word yet on if they were successful, so he figured he would up the whining today and see where it got him.

Seeing Woolsey walking towards him, Sheppard perked up. Even a visit from the serious man was something John looked forward to these past few days.

"Sheppard," Woolsey said, standing next to the younger man. "How are you feeling today?"

He shrugged. "Bored." Looking up hopefully, the commander didn't look sympathetic.

"Well, Dr. Keller says you've been driving her staff crazy," Woolsey said, disapprovingly. "So I'm hear to offer you a deal. I gave your suggestion some thinking and I have concluded it's a good idea. We're going to patch a new temporary team together and take advantage of the SGC personal visiting the base. Colonel Mitchell's record proves that he can handle the missions we have scheduled. Ronon will be there to help him. Daniel can work on the items we planned on having him look at on days he's on the base, but will otherwise be assigned on Mitchell's team. And Dr. Keller will join them as well."

Sheppard nodded, agreeing it was a good match. "So what's the deal?"

Woolsey perched on the bed next to his. "You have three days to assign them team building tasks to prepare them for missions together. In return," Woolsey said. "I'll see about getting you an early release to your room with visits from the medical team periodically to check and make sure you're behaving yourself. And a wheel chair for mealtimes, crutches once you graduate from that."

Sitting up, John smiled. "Now that's what I'm talking about. When do we start?"

* * *

Jennifer left Woolsey's office with a sense of dread. Off world missions and herself just didn't get along lately. Captured once, kidnapped another time... she guessed it wasn't as bad as SGA-1's incidents, but when you figured she had only gone off world a hand full of times. She pointed that out to Woolsey, but he assured her between Mitchell and Ronon, she would be fine. However, she noticed that even the commander looked pessimistic despite his words.

He instructed her to meet Mitchell and the rest of their impromptu temporary team in the infirmary before Sheppard was released. She had given her reluctant approval for his release. Rounding the corner, she entered the infirmary and made her way over to Sheppard's bed. Mitchell and Ronon were already there.

"Hey, doc," Daniel said coming from behind her, gently guiding her around the machines in front of her. "I heard we're going to be teammates for awhile. It will be nice to work with you."

"Hmmm..." she began, warily. "Guess you haven't heard the gossip on Atlantis yet, huh?" He looked puzzled, so she took that as a negative. "Let's just say I'm fully aware of the money exchanging hands when I go off world. Especially from the uniforms. They like to guess what will come up during the mission."

"I still don't understand..." Daniel said.

Sheppard, overhearing their conversation, chuckled. "Don't worry, Jackson. You'll find out soon enough." He earned a glare from Keller. "So... you've all been briefed on Woolsey's decision to slap this team together rather than getting behind while I'm recovering."

Mitchell began to grin. Sheppard noticed and looked at him. "Something you want to share with the class, Cameron?"

He tried to put on a straight face. "Sorry, sir. It's just hard to take you seriously when you're in your pajamas in a hospital bed."

Looking down at Sheppard's white t-shirt and Packer's flannel pants, Jennifer smiled. "You should have seen him in his gown."

"Hey now," Sheppard said. "Show some respect for a man down. Anyways, Woolsey has put me in charge of some team building he figures you all need, especially since you all don't know each other very well."

"Well, we know one thing for sure. Cam knows who the CMO is now. That's a plus," Daniel quipped, ducking when Cameron came out him with a jab. "And knowing him, he'll probably be needing her assistance. I'm sure there's some people in this galaxy who want to kick his butt as well."

Sheppard grinned and felt a twinge of jealousy that he would be missing out. The band of misfits before him looked like they would be an entertaining group. "So each of you will be in charge of a two hour team building activity. It needs to both be educational but also be a time to get to know everyone." Already, he saw Mitchell's eyes light up. "Colonel, I see you're excited. How about you take the first up? Tonight."

"Already got mine covered," Cameron said. "Daniel, don't give it away. And Sheppard, you're going to want to be there for this."

Intrigued, Sheppard was about to accept the invitation but heard a throat clearing. Looking over at Jen, her eyes narrowed. "Will this activity be something the colonel can do while laying down in a bed?" Hearing Sheppard snicker, she blushed. "OK, that didn't come out just right..." Seeing Cameron nod, she questioned him. "OK, now I'm scared. Can't Woolsey get another doctor on this team? I'm feeling a little outnumbered here."

Sheppard shook his head. "Other teams are running pretty thin and so is your staff. Sorry, doc. Teyla's not due back for another few weeks with her people." Turning to Cameron, he grinned. "So where do we meet you tonight?"

"My room, right after supper," he answered. "Dress casual. I'll take care of the rest."

Sheppard approved. "OK, then we still have the rest of you three." He turned to Jennifer, who held up her hand. "Yes? Are we in high school?"

Ignoring his remark, she primly said "I'll take last."

Ronon agreed to do tomorrow morning, and Daniel agreed to do an evening activity later that day.

Cameron rubbed his hands together. "Sheppard, you're not going to want to get rid of me after what you see what I have planned. I'll even grab a wheelchair and bring you over early so you can get a preview."

* * *

Sheppard's jaw dropped when he entered Cameron's room. "Holy. Crap."

"Sheppard, it gets even sweeter," Cameron wheeled John fully into the room. Standing before them was a big screen plasma TV. He opened a cabinet that he had just put together from Earth, revealing what was inside. "It stays when I go. SG-1's gift to your team with a little left over funds we had laying around. You have a Wii, X-Box 360, and of course, a PlayStation 3. This duffel bag is full of the latest games. It plays DVD's too and I brought a ton of new releases from Earth. And some classics I thought your people may like."

John still couldn't speak in coherent sentences. "How?" He looked at Cameron.

"Well, I figured you guys didn't have many perks. We had some money left over at the end of the year for training purposes, but we were struggling to agree on how to spend it. I knew I would be coming here in a few weeks and started thinking about what you guys may want. The official paperwork says it's for training purposes and aerobic activity," Cameron laughed. "Sir, are you drooling?"

Finally shutting his mouth, John looked at Cameron. "I think you're going to be named a hero around here. We may have to name a section of Atlantis after you when everyone finds out."

Since he had already set up the gaming consoles, he showed John how they can be connected to Atlantian technology. In the middle of their explanation, Daniel and Jennifer walked in, followed by Ronon.

"So how did he react?" Daniel said, grinning at Sheppard.

"About how we thought he would," Cameron laughed. "He's just now speaking in full complete sentences."

Jennifer walked over to see what the fuss was about. "Oh my gosh, it's a Wii!" She looked at Daniel and Cameron. "We had just started hearing about them when I left Earth. Medical facilities with physical therapy patients were already testing them. How does it work?"

Daniel walked over and started the Wii Fit CD in the console. He showed her how to play and soon had her playing Ronon in a boxing match.

"This is about as close as I'm getting to sparring with you, Ronon," she grinned. Letting the other guys get a chance, she sat down on the floor next to Daniel. Feeling the day catch up with her, she signed and stretched her legs in front of her. They laughed over Ronon and Mitchell's match with each other. Ronon, not used to playing something like this, lost miserably to Cameron.

Laughing, Cameron pounded Ronon on his back. "No worries, my friend. I'm sure you'll make up for that loss in the real thing if we get around to it."

Ronon grumbled. "Count on it."

Jennifer sat back and watched as Cameron put on a war game on the PlayStation 3. He pretended to be serious as he told the rest of them this was important strategy training.

Joining in the laughter, Jennifer felt incredibly relaxed. It was hard for her to completely let her guard down, especially with men. With Laura Cadman, it was easy when it was just them. But for some reason, she found herself incredibly at ease with the group in the room. Looking at Cameron, he heart stumbled just a bit. Well, comfortable with most of them at least. Glancing over at Sheppard, she saw he was getting tired but not wanting to leave. Sending Ronon a silent message, Jennifer motioned over towards Sheppard.

"We better get to bed," Ronon said. "My turn for team building in the morning. 8:00, sharp. Training room."

Everyone groaned. Daniel stood up and turned to help Jennifer up. She found herself at ease and liking the scientist. Smart, like Rodney, but not as boisterous. And he never seemed to complain.

"Colonel," she said. "I heard you've been visiting the young boy that Sheppard brought back."

He shrugged. "It seems like everyone here is pulling extra duties except me. Figured I could spend my free time with him." Cameron grinned. "I've been teaching him Go Fish. Even though he can't talk, we made up signs for anything he needs to say."

She was impressed. And incredibly moved that this man would think about how scared and probably bored that little boy that had to live for months in a strange place. Not to mention with a trach still in place from the extensive neck wound.

She made her way to her room, only to be almost assaulted by Laura as she opened the door. "Where have you been?" she demanded.

Jennifer, entering her room and motioning for Laura to follow, shut the door and went to sit on the bed. "Team building stuff... Woolsey and Sheppard thought we needed it before heading out on our first mission."

Laughing, Laura sprawled on the floor, propping her head up on a duffel bag Jennifer had on the floor. "You have all the luck, girlfriend," she said. "First, you're stuck with the hottest man from the expedition in a room during the fake quarantine. You get to do medical exams on half naked men after every post-mission. And now... Woolsey puts you on a team with Ronon, a hot scientist, and the SGC's most eligible and handsome fly boy."

The young doctor rolled her eyes, bringing her legs to her chest. "I'll have you know, as a doctor, I don't notice stuff like that in the infirmary. I'm strictly professional."

Snorting, Laura sat up. "Ha! What about outside the infirmary?"

A little smile escaped from Jennifer's lips. "I notice some things. Occasionally." Deciding to tease her friend, she went on. "Like tonight, while I was on Mitchell's bed watching the guys play some game-"

"What!" Laura screeched. "You were on Mitchell's bed? Why? Did he flirt with you?"

Snorting, Jennifer layed down on her bed so Cadman didn't see her face. "Absolutely not. We barely talked. I was laying down next to Daniel."

"As in, Dr. Daniel Jackson?" Laura sighed. "Seriously. I'm in the wrong line of work."

Jennifer laughed. "Yeah, it was pretty rough tonight. And weird. I mean, I was the only female in the room. You know, with Ronon and John being there as well."

"And now, you're just bragging," Laura said, throwing a pillow at Jennifer. "So what's on the agenda for tomorrow? Didn't you say you each were assigned something to do?"

Nodding, Jennifer reminded herself to set her alarm and pulled out something to wear. "Ronon has tomorrow. He said we'll be doing some hand to hand training. You should swing by the training room tomorrow." Jennifer stopped and thought to herself. "Oh, no, maybe you shouldn't. I'm never going to hear the end of it if I get my butt whooped."

Laura laughed and left the room. "Count me in."

A few minutes later, just as Jennifer was about to go to bed, she heard the tell tale beep from her ear.

A transmission came through her communicator. "Keller to the infirmary. Stat."

Swearing, she quickly changed into scrubs, assuming it was bad, and jogged to the infirmary. On her way, she ran into the medical team who had an officer on the gurney. From their faces, she could already tell it was bad. About as bad could get. Assessing the man, she moved quickly to inventory his wounds. He had some kind of wound to his abdomen.

"He's not breathing," a nurse shot out.

Jennifer didn't think twice. Shouting for everyone to move aside, she fought her way through the medical team as well as the man's CO. Spying Lorne nearby, she called out to him. "Clear the area. Now."

Mitchell was jogging over, hearing the communication that a man was down. He saw Jennifer hop onto the gurney and began to attempt to bring the man back. She worked furiously at her chest compressions while another nurse worked to get oxygen into his lungs.

"Come on, sergeant. I'm not going to work this hard and not have you come back," Jennifer hissed. She worked for several minutes until finally one of the nurses gently put a hand on her arm.

"Doctor, he's gone." She gently said. They helped her off the gurney. Her hands were covered in blood, as well as her scrubs. Not speaking to anyone, she nodded. With one last look at the man on the gurney, she covered his hand with her own, squeezing it once. When they wheeled him away, she just stood there, starring.

Lorne walked over to her, cuping her face into his hand. He said something to her and then guided her over into the infirmary. He helped her wash her hands. It seemed to jar her out of her daze. Everyone didn't talk, all silently mourning the man they had routinely worked with on Atlantis. Beginning to realize she was covered in blood, she shut the door to her office and quickly changed. Lorne knocked once, asking if she needed anything. She must have said no, and Lorne walked away.

Cameron knew somewhat what she was going through. It was hard being in charge... and hard when someone died under your charge. Waiting for Lorne to pass through, he slowly made his way over to her office. He still didn't know if him and Jennifer were an item, but he decided that this wouldn't be overstepping any grounds even if they were. This was just one team member helping another. Not even knocking, he quietly opened and closed the door.

The confident, competent doctor was no longer there. Instead, he saw Jennifer sitting against the wall, knees to her chest, with tears rolling down her face. She wasn't crying or making a sound. Just staring with those eyes flooded up like a dam slowly overturning.

Not saying anything, he just sat next to her. She didn't move... didn't even acknowledge he was there. He waited for a few minutes until finally speaking.

"I'm not going to say the usual stuff... like you tried your best, it's not your fault... I hate when people give me those lines when someone is killed in action," he said. Jennifer just stared at the opposite wall. After a few minutes, she wiped at her face.

Cameron shifted to grab a tissue for her. Wiping what she missed on her face, he faced her. "How about instead, you tell me about him. What was his name?"

She looked at him, wondering why this man, who was a practical complete stranger, could understand how she felt better than people she had been working with for months. Some even years. Taking the tissue from him, she wiped her nose.

"Henry. Lietenent Henry Fanning," she said in a low voice. "He was one of the newer recruits. Very young. Full of life."

He nodded and moved back to sitting next to her, shoulder to shoulder. "What made him stand out from the others?"

She smiled. "His first personal mission he had when he got here was to try fighting Ronon. Everyone talked about it. Even Ronon heard about him before he even was beamed down from the _Daeldlous. _He wasn't cocky about it... just wanted to try it. Kinda like people want to try competing at Gladiator TV show. Most don't win, but it's a thrill while you're at it."

He laughed. "Trust me on this, that's not one of my life goals right now. That man is a beast." He was surprised when she laughed back. "So, how did Fanning make out against Ronon?"

"Three stitches to the eye and about five more on the cheek," she laughed. "So pretty well."

Grimacing, Cameron leaned his head back. "Remind me never to make that man mad."

They sat in silence. Finally, she put her head against his shoulder since it was there. "Mind sticking around for a few more minutes? I just don't want my staff to see me like this."

"I have no where else I have to be," he said. They just sat there, silently on the floor in a quiet understanding, until she finally felt ready to move again.


	4. Chapter 4

Mitchell entered the training room after getting lost twice. Seriously thinking about asking Rodney to make him a map, he decided to tag along with someone once he left. Seeing the rest of his team already stretching out, he looked over apologetically. "Sorry, I got lost. Again."

Daniel, wearing his black SGC issued pants and a black tank top, grinned. "I was smart and tagged along with Keller. You really need to get your own tour guide."

Noticing the young doctor, he glanced over, making sure she didn't see his eyes on her. They hadn't really spoke much since the infirmary. He guessed she had been busy balancing working there as well as preparing to join his team on missions.

She was so much more smaller and slender from the rest of the team, especially flanked between Ronon and Jackson. She wore black capri bicycle pants and a matching sleeveless top. The top stopped right at her waistline, revealing a tiny glimpse of pale skin from her back as she stretched her hamstrings. Hearing a warning growl, he saw Ronon's eyes on him. He quickly averted his gaze and began his own stretches while wondering if the young doctor was paired up with him as well.

"Cold?" He heard Jackson ask her. Looking over, he saw her running her hands up and down her arms.

"Yeah, I didn't realize they keep this place so cold. I guess it makes sense, if everyone is coming in and working up a sweat."

Mitchell went over and dug in his duffel bag. Pulling out a gray Air Force hooded sweatshirt, he walked over and offered it to her.

She took it from him and said a thank you, embarrassed by the extra attention. Yanking it over her head, Cameron smiled when he saw how large it was on her. He held out his hands, motioning her to come forward, and rolled up the sleeves so that her hands would poke through. "Sorry, it's even a little big on me. I usually wear it over my work out stuff."

Because they were already standing next to one another, Ronon paired them up.

"OK. This is what we're going to do," Ronon started. "Sheppard told me on Earth, they do these trust building activities. So I thought... before we begin some defense moves and stuff... we can do this."

He had Jennifer and Daniel each have their back facing their partner. Jennifer stood with her back to Mitchell and so did Daniel.

"OK, now close your eyes," Ronon said.

Jennifer muttered. "I'm so not going to like this, am I?"

"Quiet, Jen," Ronon answered. "When you're ready, I want you to keep your feet together with your legs straight and fall back."

They were silent for a second.

"Ronon?" Daniel said, with his eyes closed. "I think you forgot about one part."

Ronon grinned. "Oh yeah. Mitchell and I will catch you. That's the trust part."

Jennifer, knowing that Mitchell's eyes were glued on her, wiped her hands on her pants. She heard Daniel's movement and Ronon, hopefully, catching him. Taking a deep breath, she began to move but stopped before she could fall.

"Sorry. Sorry." She said, going back. A little dizzy now from having her eyes closed for so long, she tried to give herself a pep talk. _Seriously, Jen, _she thought. _They're going to find out you have some major trust issues here. It's not like the man already thinks you're crazy and cry on the floor of your office.  
_

Trying again, she almost fell back but then stopped again.

"OK, stop," Ronon said, walking towards her. Instructing her to open her eyes. "Jen, what's up?"

Turning beat red but still having her back to Cameron, she covered her face. "Sorry. I just have control issues."

"Yeah, no kidding," Ronon smiled, joking with her. "OK. Do you think Cameron is going to let you fall? Or that he's not strong enough to catch you?"

Jennifer, still red, shook her head. "No. And if he did, you'd probably knock him out."

Ronon laughed. "Right. So this time, I want you to just think how he'll be there to catch you... and not the falling onto the floor part."

She nodded. Once he left, she stood, and thought about falling into her arms. Once she thought about that, it didn't sound so bad. It actually sounded nice. Not even breathing, she let herself fall back and almost immediately had his arms come around her.

"Nice job, doc," Cameron whispered in her ear, making her shiver. Trying to get her color back down to normal, she hid her face from his eyes for an extra moment before turning and standing beside him.

Seeing Jennifer's embarrassment, Daniel tried to take the attention off of her. "So I'm thinking that it may be hard for me to catch you, Ronon. And same goes for Jennifer and Cam."

"That's why we're doing something else," Ronon said. "OK, Mitchell and Jackson, put on the blind folds." He set two object on the other side of the room once they couldn't see. "Jen and I will be guiding you to find something on the other side of the room. We're allowed to talk to you or even touch you. Whoever gets theirs first will win."

"Now see," Jen muttered. "I could have totally done this without freaking out."

"Speak for yourself," Cameron whispered back. "This is my worst nightmare. Not being able to see. It was bad enough I couldn't walk for a year, but being blind is just crippling."

"You couldn't walk for a year?" She said. "What happened?" She hadn't read his file yet. Reminding herself to pull it tonight, she faced him towards the direction she wanted him to walk towards.

Ronon was talking but both were ignoring him.

"Hey, guys. You ready?" Ronon yelled out.

"Yes." They replied. Jennifer took position behind him and started giving him commands.

"OK, straight forward about 20 feet," she said. When he started to stray off course a bit, she slowed him down and guided his elbow. "No, not that far off." He stopped dead in his tracks and Jennifer slammed into him. Giggling, she yelled at him "Cameron, seriously, warn me next time."

Cameron smiled. It was the first time she had used his name. Despite wanting to not initiate anything more than a friendship, he found himself growing more and more interested in Atlantis' CMO.

"Sorry," he replied. Deciding to make things more interesting, he purposely over-exaggerated his movement, causing her to correct him repeatedly. He liked hearing her laughter.

"OK," she said, catching her breath. "Daniel and Ronon were done like ten minutes ago. Make me proud. You need to bend down and under the chair is the ball."

Finding the chair, he knelt down and retrieved the ball. "Ta da!" he said, pulling off the blind fold. Looking back at Ronon, he could tell the man did not find antics amusing, nor was he fooled by the delay of getting their ball. Shrugging at Daniel, he made his way back over with Jennifer in tow.

Ronon, still not looking away from Cameron, smirked. "Time for a partner change. Daniel and Cameron, switch. Then get geared up for sparring."

Mitchell immediately knew this was deliberate pairing. Seeing Daniel and Jennifer walk to the other side of the room, he followed Ronon to their gear. "Look, big guy, sorry about all of that. She was finally relaxing around me and I stretched it a bit."

Looking up from putting on his gloves, his eyes glinted at Cameron. "So you're not trying to get with Jen?"

For a brief moment, Cameron almost blurted out that he might be. Deciding now was not the time, especially since he was about to train with Ronon, he shook his head. "No, everything is strictly professional. Just trying to build up some trust."

Ronon nodded, and walked away. He glanced back at Cameron and found the man stealing a glance over at Jennifer. Between that look and the pause he made, Ronon knew Mitchell was lying. Or just plain in denial about his attraction to Jen. Either way, it was excuse enough to not hold back while they spared. He grinned when he saw Major Lorne wheel in Sheppard. Minutes later, a few more military men and women eagerly came into the training room.

Looking at Sheppard, he gave him a questioning look.

"I may have talked at breakfast about you possibly giving Mitchell the old Atlantis initiation," Sheppard said mischievously. "But truth be told, I think the guy will set a record holding you off. He's had a lot of training on Earth, but what may set him apart is the weeks of training he had off world with the Sodan warriors." Noticing Jennifer's shirt, he raised his eyebrows. "Dr. Keller, there will be hell to pay if Cadman see's you in that."

Shrugging, Jennifer rolled her eyes. "What is up with you and the Marines? Why can't you just get along?"

Mitchell, overhearing their conversation, quickly assumed Cadman was a man. And that Cadman was somehow tied to Jennifer. He had already been corrected by Lorne that they were not together. _So who was this Cadman? Besides a Marine. _Pushing thoughts of disappointment aside, he walked over. "Hey, you tell that to those jar heads. And it's not our fault we keep wining every football game year after year." He walked back over to Ronon.

Ronon just grinned, obviously overly confident that the man didn't have the weight behind his punches to do any harm. "Mitchell... hand to hand or weapons?"

Mitchell calmly looked over at him, even though he was a little surprised to see the growing audience. "I like the staff," he said, reaching in to take off his shirt, revealing a black tank top underneath. Ronon did the same, and soon both men were facing off.

Jennifer stood close by, knowing full well that injuries and stitches were coming up soon. She was surprised to see Mitchell so calm. When Laura came into the room and spotted the young doctor, she jogged over to stand next to her.

"Oh my God," Laura said. "I just came for the fight, but didn't expect to see a show. Look at those muscles." She began fanning herself. "Both of them. I may need you to get me oxygen by the time this is over."

Jennifer lost her focus. She made the mistake of looking at Cameron. Slender hips. She could see the ripples of his stomach through the tank top. Her face flushed, sending Laura into giggles.

"Ah, so the doctor finally turns off her medical professionalism and puts on her female eyes. Not bad, huh?" Looking down at Jennifer's shirt, her jaw dropped. "What are you wearing?"

Grinning, Jennifer just swatted her. Looking back at the men, she saw that they had begun to circle one another. Some men began cheering for Ronon, just out of Atlantian loyalty. She heard a bunch of Air Force men cheering for Mitchell. Ronon came at Mitchell at a dead run, sending Cameron quickly to the side to avoid him. For the first five minutes, Cameron shocked the crowd as he successfully held off Ronon's advances. Once, Ronon was quicker and hit the side of his temple, earning him a small cut. Wiping the blood away like he was swatting a fly, he just calmly kept fighting.

Ten minutes turned into twenty. A hush fell over the crowd, and a few gasped when Mitchell landed a few blows to Ronon's thigh and back. When the men were almost to the twenty-five mark, they both stood apart and caught up on their breathing.

Even Sheppard was stunned at the young man's skill. "Hey, guys, why don't we call this a draw?"

Ronon glared at Sheppard. Mitchell just shrugged.

"I can go on longer," Mitchell said, finding himself wanting to proof himself. Dropping his staff, he motioned for Ronon to do the same. "Hand to hand?"

Ronon nodded.

Despite his skill with the staff, Mitchell did not do as well against Ronon without the weapon. Although he landed a few onto the beast of a man, he was outweighed tremendously. When Ronon plowed his fist a little too hard into Mitchell's mouth, Jennifer stood up. Catching Sheppard's eye, she gave him a pleading look. She didn't want to call the match herself, hoping Sheppard would say something.

He nodded her way. "OK, we're done. You guys can't be injured if you're going off world in two days." Sheppard motioned for Jen to come forward. She had already grabbed the medical kit before the fight. "Dr. Keller will patch you both up."

Jennifer knelt where Mitchell had slumped down into a chair. He was dripping sweat. "Sorry, doc. I'm going to drip all over you."

Ignoring him, she took a close look at his eye. "Stitches. For sure." Jen scooted over to Ronon, looking over his cuts. Everything looked pretty minor, so she butterfly bandaged what looked bad.

Cameron hissed when she came back to him and wiped the blood away. "Come on. I can't live this down if I need stitches and he doesn't," he joked, smiling. Instantly he winced because of the cut on his lips. "Seriously, don't worry about me. I've had much worse."

Laura came over and dropped a towel into each man's arms. "Thanks for the show," she said, then remembering his rank. "Sir." Raising her eyebrows at Jen, she smiled. "I'll let the doctor tend to your boo-boo's." Under her breath so Mitchell could hear, she muttered about kissing them too. He snorted with laughter. The Marine had some spunk to her.

"Hey, Cadman. Do me a favor and walk Mitchell down to the infirmary. I'll meet him there," Jennifer called over to her, giving her a warning glance to behave. "I just want to get Ronon an ice pack for this hit to the back."

"It will be my pleasure. This way, Colonel," she helped him up.


	5. Chapter 5

"You're Cadman?" he asked.

She looked at him curiously. "Yes, sir."

Mitchell shook his head. "Sorry. I just expected Cadman to be a man."

They rounded the corner leading to the infirmary. As a nurse came to greet them, Cadman waved her away. "Dr. Keller will be here in a second and will want to take care of this." Knowing full well Jennifer probably did not need to personally stitch up the colonel, she wanted to see Jennifer in action around this man. She led Mitchell to a row of beds and plopped down on one, gesturing for him to take the one next to hers.

"Been here a lot?" he asked, giving in and stretching out onto the bed. Closing his eyes, he felt his head pounding. Everything was beginning to hurt.

Smirking, she realized he was just now getting off the adrenalin rush and his body was finally realizing it was in pain. She walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a few Tylenol out of a jar. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, she handed it to the colonel.

"Here, you'll feel better with this, sir," she said. "Anyways, yes, I'm here quite a bit with Jen when I'm off or just visiting. I'm usually stationed on the _Daedalus, _sir." She began kicking her legs, getting antsy at waiting. "So, why did you think I was a man?"

Thankful for the pain relievers, he chugged the water down and tried to sit up before Jennifer came in. "Nothing. It was just a passing comment this afternoon and that you would be ticked about something. Figured it was a man. And how about we drop the 'sirs.'"

"So you're the owner of the traitorous sweatshirt," she said, trying to connect the dots and pleased the colonel was not big on pomp and circumstance. "And you thought I was a guy. Jennifer's guy, right?"

He closed his eyes. "Oh, God, please tell me you're not Atlantis' version of Vala."

She hopped off the bed, seeing Jennifer enter the infirmary. "No, I've met you're Vala and she's scary. I'm harmless. Anyways, listen up quick because she's coming. If you're interested in her, you have to get through her big band of merry brothers- Evan, Sheppard, and Ronon. Jen hasn't seen anyone in Atlantis because those jerks either scare them off or conveniently send them back to Earth."

Wincing, he lowered his voice. "I'm not going there," he murmured, not denying anything. "Too many reasons... head of the team, headed back to Earth in a few months..."

Cadman smirked. "It's only been a few days and you can't keep your eyes off her. My bet is that you don't last for a week. Maybe two."

They stopped talking as Jennifer approached. "Why hasn't anyone stitched you up?"

Grinning devilishly, Cadman looked at her friend. "Figured you would want to do it yourself. And now, I'm off. Gosh, it's such a dreary day. Maybe things will perk up and I'll end up getting to blow something up."

Cameron sat up, confused, waiting for Jennifer to explain. "She's an explosives specialist."

"Ah," he said. There was an awkward pause where he just kept staring up at her. Jennifer, shaking her head, tried to get it together. She moved to grab the items she needed and sat on the stool next to him.

"Let me numb it and we'll get started," she said."Unless you don't want one."

He laughed. "Give me the shot, doc. I'm in enough pain through the rest of my body to have to deal with getting sewed up." He kept his eyes open as she worked. Her freckles were cute. He studied the light dusting across her nose and face as she worked.

"OK, can you not look at me?" she muttered.

"Where else am I supposed to look?" He asked.

"Try the ceiling," she retorted. He was silent for a few minutes. _So much for getting her to relax around him. _

Jennifer didn't know whether to be grateful or wonder what was going through her head when he grew silent. Finally, he seemed to not be able to contain himself.

"Has anyone ever called you freckles?"

Stopping, she glared down at him. "No."

He smirked. "Nothing to be embarrassed about. They're neat. I tried counting them, but you yelled at me."

Exasperated, she tried to stay focused on her task. "I think I would rather stitch up Ronon over you right now, which says a lot. I'm the only doctor who is wiling to stitch him up." She paused while she pulled through a stitch. "You're beginning to turn out to be a major pain."

"Colonel," he shot back. "That would be a colonel pain, doc."

Trying not to laugh, she finished her stitches. "What else hurts? Anything I should know about?"

He was having a hard time concentrating. Her face was framed by her hair, which was usually up in a half hazard pony tail. Cameron let his eyes trail over her face until he got to her lips. He had the incredible urge to kiss her to see what her lips would feel like against his.

"Lip hurts," he said innocently. Then remembering a line from _Napoleon Dynamite,_ he grinned. "My lips hurt real bad, doc."

Expecting her to laugh, he was surprised when she yanked off her gloves and glared down at him. "Contrary to my idiot friend, I will not be kissing your boo-boos."

"Whoa whoa whoa, doc, calm down," he said, getting up too fast. His vision blurred from the sudden. Jennifer rushed back to his side, pushing him back on to the bed.

The room was still spinning, but he tried to explain. "It's a movie. Sorry, forgot you haven't been back to Earth."

She double checked and made sure it wasn't a concussion he was experiencing. Forcing him to lay back, she folded her arms. "Sorry. Cadman just can be a pain sometimes." Looking at his lip, she didn't feel it needed stitches but decided to clean it a bit and put some ointment on it. He tried to brush her away.

"It's fine. Thanks for the patch up." He got up much slower this time. Standing but still holding on to the bed, he felt a lot better. "Speaking of movies, maybe I should continue Sheppard's movie night thing he had going on. Maybe not just for the team, but for anyone. It will help me get to know more people. How long is Daniel's team building activity suppose to take tonight?"

"I think everyone is suppose to take at least two hours. He said after dinner at 7 p.m." Jennifer picked up her gloves and threw them in the trash.

Cameron followed her. "Want to walk to dinner or do you need to do stuff here?"

Wishing she had an excuse to not be with him, she sighed. "No, I might as well just leave it until morning. And I wouldn't want to have you get lost again."

Feeling like he was getting brushed off, he muttered. "Don't sound so excited, doc."

* * *

Dinner time in the mess was charged with energy. Most of the military personal on Atlantis spent their conversations filling in others about how Mitchell held his own with Ronon. The general consensus was that Mitchell didn't full get away unscathed due to the stitches, so Ronon had a slight sense of winning the fight. One marine got the fight on camera with a hand held recorder and began showing different tables.

Ronon, however, was not as thrilled as everyone else was. He didn't expect the much lighter man to be able to last as long as he did, and on top of that to hold his own. Sheppard noticed his sulking and slapped him on the back.

"Cheer up, Chewey," he said. "It could have been worse. He could have knocked you out."

Snorting, Ronon rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like that would have happened."

They both looked up as Mitchell, earning a few applause's from a few tables, walked through the door with Keller at his side. As they picked up trays, they noticed Keller rolling her eyes at the applause and muttering something under her breath about idiotic men.

The team, including Sheppard at their table, quickly ate. Daniel arrived late, saying he was prepping for his presentation. Ronon and Mitchell both groaned, making Jennifer laugh at their reaction.

"So what do you have planned for us, Daniel?" she asked.

Clasping his hands, he grinned. "I thought Ronon had a good idea about trust building. But don't worry, Jen, you won't have to fall into Mitchell's arms for this one."

Sheppard looked confused, sending Ronon a questioning look. Daniel quickly explained their morning training.

"You know," John said. "She probably would have been find paired up with Ronon. No offense, doc, or to you SG1 guys, but she has trust issues with people she doesn't know well."

"Thank you, Dr. Sheppard, for that wonderful psychotic write up on my trust issues," she said, slapping him on the head. "I'll remember that the next time you come bleeding to death into my infirmary." Grinning evilly, she added. "Or when I'm picking out the needle for your next blood work."

Deadpan, Sheppard tried to see if she was joking. The woman was being hard to read lately. Not acting like herself. He had a feeling it had to do with Mitchell's arrival on Atlantis.

Finishing, the team got up, leaving Sheppard on his own.

"Ah, yeah. Sheppard, want to tag along?" Daniel asked.

Sheppard shook his head. "No, Rodney's meeting me here soon for dinner. He wanted to talk to me about his latest discovery that may help us boost weapons power during a Wraith attack. Fun stuff."

Remembering his conversation with Jennifer earlier, Mitchell stood up. "How about all of us meeting after the training room in my room for a movie? Dr. Keller missed out on a classic, so I'm figuring the rest of you did as well. It's open to anyone, so spread the word to who you want to come."

Brightening, Sheppard smiled. "Sounds like a plan, Cameron. I'll let Lorne know and a few others."

* * *

"Seriously, Daniel?" Jennifer said, sitting across from Ronon. "We have to come up with ten questions we want to know about the other person? Like what? I already know a ton about Ronon. We practically are living in a dorm environment here."

"It can be anything. Serious, funny, random. Just whatever pops into your mind. It will be easy when you get to us since you don't know us as well. In fact," he said. "Why don't you guys not be together and you and I can pair up first?" Agreeing, Jennifer sat Indian style across from Daniel. She felt as easy with the scientist, almost like she was with Laura. He was funny and charming in a friendly way. "OK, sitting across from your partner, go back and forth asking each other basic getting to know you questions."

Ronon, snorting loudly, looked bored. Then he brightened. "So, Mitchell, how long did you train with the Sodan?" Jennifer laughed when she realized he was going to ask everything he wanted to know about Cameron's experience fighting with the rogue Jaffa.

Clearing her throat, she looked at Daniel. "OK, first question. What's your relationship with Vala? I've heard things from Sam."

Daniel's face flushed, not expecting the doctor to go for something personal on the first shot. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"Ha!" Cameron yelled, obviously hearing the question. "They both are in love with each other. Half of the SGC just want to lock them in a room for a weekend and see what happens. They'll either kill each other or end up..."

"OK, Mitchell, thank you for the commentary of my love life," Daniel yelled back, interrupting him. Narrowing his eyes, he raised his eyebrow in a famous Teal'C like way. "Tit for tat, Jenifer. I heard rumors about you and..." He cupped his mouth and mouthed the word "Ronon" so that neither Ronon or Daniel could hear.

"Hey!" Ronon said, yelling over to them this time. "No whispering."

"Then stop eves dropping," Daniel laughed. Seeing the Satedan confused, he quickly explained the concept of eves dropping. Looking pointedly back at Keller, she reddened. Rolling her eyes, she beckoned him to come closer and whispered. Noticing Mitchell eying her, she covered her mouth and spoke directly into Daniel's ear. "Nothing happened. We were locked in a room together... almost kissed. But nothing happened from it. He's been an honorary big brother ever since." Leaning back, she laughed.

"Ah," he said loudly, driving Ronon and Cameron nuts. "That explains some things."

"Hmmm..." she said, giggling. ""Seriously, I feel like I'm back in elementary school and I'm telling my BFF who I have a crush on. This is turning out to be fun. But I'm glad Cadman's not here. She would go all out with this." She swung her legs back to lay on her stomach, still facing him. Grinning, he did the same so that they were inches apart.

"So, like," he said, imitating a valley girl, "who do you have a crush on?"

Slapping away at his hands, she laughed. "No one, you dork!"

Mitchell stared at them both. He often saw Daniel become comfortable and friendly pretty quick with people they met, but never like this. He couldn't tell if his friend was coming on to the doctor or not. The good, "shy," young doctor seemed completely at ease and utterly charmed with Daniel.

The better part of an hour went by. Ronon and Mitchell found themselves finished before the others. Running out of things to say, he muttered to Ronon, "Is it me, or are they scaring you with how much fun they are having?"

Ronon grunted. Figuring that meant he agreed, Mitchell looked at his watch. Movie night seemed like it was in their future if the pair before him could wrap up soon.

"OK, we're done." Laughing, Jennifer sat up and grinned at Daniel. When he moved to sit next to Ronon, Jennifer's smile fell from her face.

"Hey," he protested at her look of doom. "I can be just as fun as Daniel."

She tried to smile, but sat up straight with her legs pulled up to her chest.

"OK, Dr. Keller, I'm going to prove you wrong. First question," he thought carefully, wanting all ten to count. Thinking back to his high school journalism days, he made sure it was an open ended question. He doubted she would elaborate with a yes or no question or something that would be a single word answer. "Describe the place you grew up."

Narrowing her eyes, she saw his strategy. "I grew up in Wisconsin. Chippewa Falls. It's a small midwest town... small enough where everyone knows your name but big enough to have your own space."

Waiting for her to continue, Cameron finally gave up. "OK. Your turn."

She thought carefully. "Favorite TV show?" She figured that was safe enough. For some reason, she just didn't want to get personal with Cameron.

"Easy," he said. "Extreme Makeover, Home Edition. I cry every time," he said, grinning at her. Earning a small smile, he considered it a major victory. "What's something no one else here knows about you?"

Puzzled by his question, she thought carefully.

"Hey, Daniel." Cameron called over as she thought. "No passing or no lying, right?"

"Correct," he called out. Although he was much more subdued with Ronon, he found himself fascinated by the answers he was getting from Ronon. Yes, they were brief, but the life he lived was fascinating to Daniel.

Jennifer looked back at Cameron once she found the answer. "OK, the truth. I'm scared the IOA will replace me the first time I mess up. I wasn't meant to have this job, but it fell into my lap on accident."

Impressed that she had revealed something personal about herself, he saw her loosen up a bit and unfold her legs from her chest.

"What's one thing on Atlantis that's surprised you?" Jennifer asked.

Mitchell didn't even have to think. "You," he blurted out. Never did he think he would meet someone who tugged at him more than any other woman. Her brains, personality, her smile. It all was wrapped up in a pretty package. Realizing he revealed too much, he tried to catch himself. "I mean, the first day we met. I didn't expect you to be the CMO." Hoping he covered himself, he saw that she was blushing slightly. "OK, my turn. What's your biggest fear?"

She paused. "Losing someone close. My mother died. It makes you realize how short life can be sometimes." Looking away with a sad look across her face, she mustered up a smile. "What about you?"

He answered immediately. "Losing my freedom. When I was shot down by Anubis' ship, I was in medical rehab for over a year. No one thought I would be able to walk again, but I was determined. My dad lost his legs during the war. I knew how devastated he was when I returned injured so bad, so it really pushed me to beat the odds."

Jennifer nodded. She had reviewed his medical chart after lunch. Partly for professional reasons as a CMO but also due to her interest in his background.

They went back in forth, asking some serious and some off the wall questions. He was finally pulling some genuine smiles from her by the time they finished.

"All right. Who's up for move night?" Cameron asked.

They all agreed to meet at his room. Jennifer mentioned she would be Laura and Ronon groaned. "So much for hearing anything. She talks more than anyone on this base." Then he stopped. "Not as much as Rodney, though."


	6. Chapter 6

Movie night lasted longer than everyone had anticipated. Everyone was roaring with laughter at the movie. Because Jennifer had gone in earlier to wrap up some paperwork in her office, she was dragging towards the end. Laura, who was sitting next to her, noticed when Jen began to lean a little heavily on her on their seat on the floor. No one else noticed, so when the end of the movie hit, everyone quickly gathered their stuff to get to bed.

Laura pretended to be looking for something until the last person left. Mitchell crouched down, looking at Jen.

"Is she sleeping?" he asked, amused.

Laura laughed. "Yeah. She has a history of not making it all the way through a movie. Jen went in at 0400 to do some paperwork, so after that, and two of your trainings, she conked out about a half hour ago. And it's next to impossible to wake the girl up." Then she frowned. "Shoot. I should have asked Ronon to carry her to her room. Can you make sure she doesn't fall over while I go call Ronon back?"

Insulted, he looked at her. "Hey, I'm capable of carrying a 100 pound woman. And who was the one who lasted 45 minutes with that beast today? Ronon's not the only tough guy around here."

He knelt down and scooped up the young doctor.

Warning him, Laura turned. "She doesn't wake up, even if you drop her. It's a med school thing. They make them sleep on the floor of the baby nursery, so they are trained to sleep through anything. But she does talk in her sleep. A lot." Leading the way, she wondered how much her friend would scream at her when she found out how to made it to bed the next morning.

Finally reaching her room, she waved her hand across it. "Rodney programmed it to accept me. If she keeps this up, maybe you can ask him to add you. Sir."

"Cute, Cadman, cute," he said. Jennifer during the walk had wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and shoulders. Now she was snuggling deeper into his arms.

"Hmm..." she murmured. "You smell good."

Doubling over and trying to contain her laughter at Mitchell's reaction, Laura covered her mouth with her hands. "We better not mention that in the morning." She turned down Jennifer's covers as Cameron gently placed her in the middle of the bed. "Want your hoodie back? She's still wearing it," she snickered. "It must smell good." Mitchell shook his head. Laura quickly took off her shoes and covered her. "Night night, Jenny Benny."

Smiling at Jennifer's friend, he glanced around the room. It was neat and sparse. She had a single photo on the night stand of herself and an older man. Her father, he presumed.

They left the room, both saying their good nights.

* * *

The next day at breakfast, Laura saw Jennifer at a table sitting by herself. Waving, she got her food and sat down across from her.

"Spill it, Cadman. How did I end up back in my room?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Laura said slyly.

Jennifer was relaxed from a long, luxurious shower. She took her time getting ready today and left her hair down. She rarely used the battery powered hot rollers, but she decided she would add a few curls today. The result was a slight, wavy curl that framed her face. Laura also noticed she was wearing a light dose of her favorite perfume.

"Looking good, doc," Sheppard said, using his crutches still. "Let me tell you, I'm going to be so glad to be rid of these things. How many more days?" He sat while Ronon got his food for him.

Jennifer, distracted by Sheppard, gave him her estimate and told him he could see her later on for a check up. Watching Mitchell walk into the room, she darted a look back to her friend.

"Please tell me, Laura, that he didn't-" Jennifer began, but watching her friend's face closely gave away who carried her to bed last night. "God, Cadman, seriously? You had to ask him?"

Looking up innocently, she put on her best angelic face. "Jen, he was the only one left in the room. Don't worry... you didn't drool on him or anything. You just talked a little."

Absolutely mortified, she didn't look up at him when he sat down. "What," she hissed at Laura, "did I say?"

Laura pretended not to hear. "So, Jen, what kind of training are you doing with your team today?"

Everyone paused to look at her, making her face redden. "Uh, medical stuff. Kind of a circuit training thing."

"Morning, doc," Mitchell grinned. "Did you say medical training? Thank goodness. I don't think I could do another round with Ronon."

Even though she didn't want to speak to him, she wondered if he was hurting. "Anything feel different today?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No. And I got my chap stick, so I'm all good." Everyone laughed, understanding the joke after watching the movie. "Stitches are holding up good. Glad to know I'll be taken care of on Atlantis if my tradition of getting the crap beat out of me holds in this galaxy."

They made their way over to an open room where Jennifer has set up stations before breakfast.

"OK, I'm going to be your victim today," she grinned, feeling comfortable with instructing them with something she was familiar with. "Each station has a description of what is wrong with me. It's your job to patch me up before you can move on to the next task. Some are timed, some have distractions. My lovely assistant Marie, who is a nurse in the infirmary for those who haven't met her, will provide those distractions." Marie was holding tape balls to replicate boulders falling and a radio that she demonstrated had Wraith dart sounds in the background.

"Each of you should take a turn with taking lead, but all of you should pay attention to how they are treating me in case we run into something similar on a mission," Jennifer said. "OK, first station. Someone read the diagnosis."

Daniel stepped forward and grabbed the slip. Ronon and Mitchell read over his shoulder while Jennifer sat on the ground.

"Dr. Keller is suffering from severe ankle injury. Determine whether it is broken or sprained and then treat. No time limit and no immediate threat of danger," Daniel read.

"Yeah, right," Ronon joked. "There's always a threat of danger when doc's around."

Swatting him, she looked up at Daniel. "OK, Jackson, how would you approach this?"

He knelt before her. "OK. Well, from what I can remember from past experience, you first need to make sure the person is sitting or laying down. Then," he began, gently pulling off her shoe and sock. "You take all of this off as gently as possible."

"Nice job, Daniel," she grinned. "And don't forget to admire my toes." She wiggled them. "Cadman's work from a few days ago."

The guys rolled their eyes. "Yes," Mitchell said. "Heaven forbid a woman in another galaxy go without a pedi."

"Anyways," Daniel said. "You gently rotate the foot. If the pain is mild, it's a sprain. Anything more serious and it could possibly be broken." He began rotating her foot, sending her into a fit of giggles. "Ticklish, doc?"

She couldn't stop laughing. "No. Not usually," she screamed. "Stop!"

Grinning, Daniel stopped and let go of her foot. "Next," he laughed. "We would need to check if you can put any weight on it. But sometimes sprains can be so bad you can't put weight on it. From what I can recall, if the swelling is terrible or if the bruising is bad, that points more into the broken area."

"Correct!" She said, patting him on the shoulder. "Now how would you get me back to the jumper or through the gate if I couldn't walk on it."

Ronon stepped forward and lifted her into his arms. "Easy, we would just carry you."

Rolling her eyes, she slapped Ronon to put her down. "But what if it was Ronon who gets hurt? Who's going to carry him?"

The laughed. She showed them how to make a splint and how to safely help someone to safety.

"OK, Ronon, you're up next," Jennifer said, sitting down in front of the next task. They laughed as Ronon got the task of food poisoning. Jennifer went through steps to take to nurse someone back to health.

"Guess I'm last," Mitchell said. He read off the paper. "Dr. Keller has received a gun shot wound. Check to see if the bullet went through and treat." He looked at her. "Oh, yea, I think I can do this one in my sleep." Kneeling down in front of her, he stopped. "Uh... how do you want to do this, doc?"

Suddenly embarrassed, she pulled off her jacket to reveal a sleeveless top. "OK, what would you do first?"

His brain died. Being this close to her again for the second time in the last 12 hours, he had to force himself to focus. "Blood," he blurted out. "Check. For blood."

"Yes, colonel," Jackson joked. "There's always a possibility there will be no blood from a gun shot wound."

Glaring at Jackson, he went on. "If the bullet went through, that's better. If not, it needs to be removed." He explained what he knew. "Then, the bleeding has to be stopped." Grabbing the gauze and tape, he demonstrated on her how he would patch her up.

"Good," she said, and quickly stood up. Unfortunately, her leg got tangled into his and she began to fall. Cameron caught her before she could hit the ground, but sent himself tumbling next to her. Grumbling next to him, she pushed off of him and stood.

Knowing full well that Daniel and Ronon were laughing at them, he took his time getting up. Ronon showed mercy on him and gave him a hand up.

"Well," he said. "Now that's all done. Rest up, team. Our first mission is scheduled at 0600 tomorrow."

* * *

The team met the next morning in the control room. Nodding once they were all there, Mitchell led the team down the stairs. Meeting Sheppard half way, he wasn't surprised with the man pulled him aside.

"Look, Mitchell," he began. "You've fully proven to be capable of taking this challenge on." Trying to be tactful, he searched for the right words. "You need to know that even though all of these missions are supposed to be to peaceful planets... you have... err... a risk factor involved on the team."

Grinning, Mitchell avoided making eye contact with Keller. "Sir, I think I've figured that out myself. I won't let anything happen to your CMO."

"No," he sighed. "Cam, you really don't know. But you will." Walking back to the control room, this time with just one crutch, he looked back. "Don't let her out of your sight."

Shaking his head, Cameron rejoined the team. "OK, team, are we set?"

Jennifer spoke up. "Set as we'll ever be," she said nervously.

Noticing her nerves, he decided to plant himself next to her as they walked through the gate.

* * *

Two weeks of several missions went by. Some went well, some went sour, and some were just downright bad. The good news was that nothing major had occurred to the improvised team, giving Cameron's confidence a boost.

The doctor did have a bit of bad luck, he quickly found out. On their second mission, he was just thinking to himself that everything had gone to plan. However, on the way back, Jennifer tripped on a tree root. It sent her flying down a hill. Since Cameron had always made an effort to stick close to her, he was the closest one to help. He failed to grab her as she went sailing by, so instead ran after her down the hill, tripping himself, until they both landed into a small area next to the river, covered in mud. Muttering about not counting chickens before they're hatched, he moved over to Jennifer to help her up. She was covered from head to toe in the slimy mess. Not even looking him in the eye, she grabbed the outstretched hand, only to have it slip from her grasp. She fell back into the mud and just layed there.

"Why me?" she asked. "Is it too much to ask for one mission to go smoothly."

Deciding he was already a mess, he plopped down next to her. "Keller, I don't think that's possible. But look on the bright side..." he said. "One look at us, and we'll get the debriefing postponed. That's a plus."

The corner of her mouth turned up. Looking at him, she wasn't at all shocked that he looked just as gorgeous covered in mud. _And I'm sure I just look lovely right now. Is that mud in my eyelash? Nice, Jen, nice. _

When they stepped through the gate, as he expected, Sheppard just looked at the pair and grinned. _Told you so,_ Sheppard mouthed to Cameron from the control room.

A week later, they went on a mission to a world where they had met a friendly group of people. Even though they had little to offer in return, they appreciated the friendship from the village. Unfortunately, they discovered that a team may have infected their small population with the flu. Jennifer, who insisted on bringing at least one other medical team member, worked tirelessly for 24 hours straight giving medical attention, education, and vaccines to the group of people. The rest of the team stood watch, helping where they could, and took turns sleeping. Finally when they were able to leave, Mitchell noticed Jennifer's shoulder slumped and eyes drooping. She insisted on carrying her heavy pack the 1/2 mile they had left to walk to the gate. Watching her closely, he cursed when he saw her begin to sway and then caught her before she fell completely over. Yanking the heavy pack off and passing it off to Ronon, who eagerly stood by to help, he gathered her in his arms.

"Colonel, I'm fine. I just got dizzy."

Cameron ignored her protests. "You're tired. You barely ate at all since we've been here. And it will be quicker this way." He kept walking as if he wasn't carrying the CMO of Atlantis in his arms. The others behind his back were all smiling. It was about time their CMO found someone.

"Put me down, Mitchell. You are not carrying me like a caveman through that gate. What will people think?"

"That you're tired?" he shot back. "Hopefully we won't give Sheppard a heart attack. He'll probably assume the worst. Which means I'll be in trouble. I'm pretty sure that if something happens to you on a mission, he's going to be holding me personally responsible. So, relax, doc. Enjoy the ride."

"Besides," he said. "I have it on good authority that I smell good."

Confused, she looked up at him. "What in the world are you talking abou-" she stopped. "So that's what I said the last time you carried me. Well, don't worry. I won't be falling asleep this time."

"Sure. Whatever." He didn't look down again until they had almost reached the gate. He wasn't surprised to see her fast asleep, arms hanging on tightly to his shoulders.


	7. Chapter 7

Upon stepping through the gate in the fourth week of their missions, they all jumped when they heard the most menacing thunder they had ever heard. A storm was fast approaching. The wind was whipping through at a tremendously high speed, knocking them over. Mitchell grabbed on to Jennifer and motioned for them all to squat down.

"Ronon?" Mitchell asked. "Is this normal?"

The man shook his head. "This is going to be a bad one. There's already flooding down in the valley. I remember this place now." He looked back at Cameron. "I think we need to dial back and get out of here."

Mitchell looked upward. "Of course. Just our running good luck. Oh well. OK, let's dial it back up."

Waiting for the gate to open, they all stood silently. Finally, Daniel spoke up. "I'm not an expert in Pegasus, but I think something is wrong."

Nodding in agreement, Ronon dialed again.

"I think we're going to need another plan," Ronon said, walking over to Mitchell. "We need to take cover. There's a cave up on that hill. I've stayed there before."

Keller, anxious to get to cover but concerned about the mission, spoke up. "What about the supplied we promised the village? Can we try to make it there?"

Mitchell waited for Ronon to answer. "If I went myself, I could make it." Waiting for Mitchell to agree, he turned to Jennifer. "Give me the supplies and I'll go there. Mitchell, you OK with this?"

Sensing that the medical supplies were of critical importance, he nodded. "Once you get there, wait out the storm. Keep your communicator on. When Atlantis checks in, which should happen in about six hours, then we'll call for a jumper to pick us up."

The thunder was getting louder, indicating they did not have a lot of time to make it for cover. "The three of us will make it on foot to the cave. Show me about where it is," Mitchell went over with Ronon. Seeing where he was pointing, he nodded. "OK, we better head out."

The three parted ways with Ronon. The hill was slippery and they all were covered in mud by the time they were half way up. Seeing the cave, he motioned for Daniel to go ahead and try to find wood for a fire, leaving him to help Jennifer. It was obvious she was not used to walking in these conditions, added to the fact she was scared senseless by the lightning hitting the ground around them followed by the roaring thunder. The clouds broke apart and began dumping buckets of rain on them. Jennifer kept slipping, causing Mitchell to grab hold of her hand and reaching around her to help steady her on her feet.

They finally reached the top. Soaked, they ran into the cave. Daniel, was completely dry except for a light sprinkling of rain on his shoulders, saw them come in shivering.

"You both need to get dry," Daniel said, helping them put down their packs. "I'm finding dry wood deeper into the cave. I can start it when I get back."

Mitchell nodded, sending more shivers down his body. "Clothes," his teeth chattered and he walked over to Jennifer. "Off. All of them. I'll get the blankets out of our pacts. They're in waterproof bags."

Shaking, she just stood there.

"Keller, I swear, if I have to come over there and strip you myself..." Cameron warned.

Angry he was right, she pulled off her jacket slowly and began stripping off the wet layers. Remembering she packed a change of clothes with her blanket just in case she needed them, she walked over to Mitchell, only wearing her pants and sleeveless undershirt. "I ppapaaackkeed exxxtrraa clclclothes," she stuttered.

Finding them, he threw them over to her. "Hurry and change first. I'm turning my back. Here's the blanket, too."

Taking off the rest of her wet stuff, she yanked on the dry clothes over her wet body. She had only packed a tank top and running shorts. They were probably the only items that fit in the slender bag, but she was grateful for them and not having to stand naked with a blanket on with two men in a cave. Seriously, why does stuff like this continuously happen to her? Still freezing, she tried to keep her teeth from chattering but failed. Jennifer wrapped the blanket around her and walked back into the middle of the room just as Daniel returned with the wood. Sitting next to where the fire was going to be, she curled herself into a tight ball and blew into her hands.

"Cam, I got extra pants in my pack. No shirt, must have forgot," Daniel called out and carried them over to him.

"Praise God, Jackson. Awesome," he hurried over behind Jennifer and stripped out of his wet ones. Pulling on the pants and wrapping himself into the blanket, he bent down for his communicator and gun and made his way over.

"Please say you can start a fire. Tell me you were a boy scout Jackson, because I'm in no shape to handle matches right now," Mitchell covered his head with the blanket and shivered. "And why doesn't Atlantis have probes like Earth? I'm going to kill Rodney for this."

"Budddgget cutttsss, colonellll," Jennifer stuttered. Her lips were blue and face was white as a sheet.

Daniel, stopping what he was doing, looked over to Mitchell.

"You guys are going to get hypothermia if I can't get this started soon," Jackson said, working as he talked. "You need to use body heat to warm each other up."

Jennifer's head popped up. "No.... I'mmmmm fiiinnnee, Dannnieell." Her blue lips tried to stop her teething from chattering, but didn't stop her body from shaking.

Realizing Daniel was right, he set down his blanket, took off her blanket and carried her onto his lap. The heat from his bare chest instantly sent warmth into his body and she instinctively snuggled closer. He covered her legs with her blanket and then wrapped his around them both. His arms went around her and they both began feeling their bodies warm up.

"Sorry," he shivered. "You don't get a choice in the matter."

They watched silently as Daniel got the fire going. Jennifer's color soon returned to her lips. It was awkward to be surrounded by a man, especially this man, and to be this intimately close to him. And she was ticked that he realized a bad medical situation of hypothermia while she almost ignored it. Despite the conditions and circumstances, her body betrayed her as she kept sinking deeper into Cameron's embrace. Sighing, she leaned her head onto his shoulder and fell asleep.

The fire finally picked up. Satisfied, Daniel sat down across from them. "Well, the good news is that help should be on its way in about four hours."

"Bad news?" Mitchell asked quietly.

"None, as long as one of you doesn't get pneumonia from this," Daniel replied cheerfully. "Her hair is probably making her head cold."

"What should we do?" Mitchell asked. "Cut it?"

Daniel's eyes widened. "Yeah, and you think she's not agitated enough with you now... no, she needs a hat or something." He rummaged in her things and pulled one out. "Pile her hair onto the top of her head and then I'll put this on."

Letting the blanket drop, he carefully gathered her hair together. Awkwardly, he twisted it up until Daniel put on the hat. "There," Daniel said. "That should hold in more body heat."

The fire started making Cameron nod off. Daniel noticed and grinned. "Need a nap, Cam?"

Cameron shook his head. "Fires. They always make me tired."

"Go ahead and lay down with her," Daniel said. "We're not in any danger. I can keep watch anyways and if Atlantis calls early, I have my communicator on."

Giving in, he gently set Jennifer down on top of her blanket and layed down behind her. Holding her close, he covered both of them with a blanket and used Daniel's dry pack for a pillow for them. Within seconds he was sleeping.

* * *

Mitchell woke up to the sound of a gun turning on. Opening his eyes, he found an angry Ronon glaring down on him and pointing his gun between his eyes. The cave was empty, the fire had been put out, and Daniel was no where to be seen.

"Ronon?" He asked as Jennifer began to stir. Muttering about clamps and gurneys, she opened her eyes. The events from a few hours ago raced in her brain. She moved away from him and began to stand up. Seeing that she was only wearing a tank top and shorts... very short shorts, she pulled the blanket off of Cameron. In the process, her hat fell off and half wet hair tumbled down her back.

Bare chested, Cameron rose up and held up his hands. "Gun down, Ronon. This isn't what it looks like."

Ronon held his position, and then surprised them both by laughing. "Sorry. Jackson thought it would be funny. He explained everything."

Motioning them to follow him, they both took a deep breath sigh of relief.

"Crazy Satedan," Jennifer to avoid rocks with her bare feet, Cameron held her elbow as she climbed out of the cave, only to have her push him away. She was still ticked off at him, even though she wasn't sure why.

"You don't know the half of it," Cameron said without thinking and not knowing the mood she was in. "Laura told me about your trio of honorary brothers. I feel sorry for your dates. I'm surprised Ronon let me live for that and it was only to keep warm."

Whipping her head to face him, she pinned him down with her eyes. "What? What are you talking about?"

Cursing himself for not thinking, he shrugged and decided to tell her what he knew. "Rumor has it that no one gets close to you because Sheppard, Lorne, and Ronon all screen anyone for you that's interested."

"What?" Jennifer yelled, walking into the jumper. Her blanket fell, earning her stares from the Marines and a warning growl from Ronon. Try as they might, the men tried to avoid looking at her but she was a sight to see. Angry and half clothed, the CMO rounded on Ronon and Lorne, who was driving the jumper.

"Doc," Lorne said, confused why she was angry. "Were we not fast enough?"

Hands on her hips, she began yelling at them. Cameron took a seat and only made out words like "idiot" and "stupid men" and "can take care of myself."

Daniel, who had been in the jumper and connect the dots as to what was happening, pulled her back and sat her down on a bench across from Cameron. "Uh, Jennifer, you need to calm down so Lorne can fly this thing back to Atlantis."

Cameron, throwing his blanket to her, said with a low voice, "And I suggest that you end the show and put this on."

Coming out of her haze of anger, she remembered what she was wearing and reddened.

Daniel grinned. "So, you're just not the same, shy girl I met in the SGC. What happened?"

Ronon piped up. "She's been acting different since you guys have been here. It's your fault."

"Hey, don't blame me. Blame Cameron," Daniel said as they flew through the sky. The storm had passed while they had hidden in the cave. "He's the one who wanted to chop off her hair in the cave."

"You wanted to cut my hair?" Jennifer raised her voice. "Why?"

Covering his head with his hands, Cameron felt a headache coming on. "Because it was wet."

Making a sound of disgust, she crossed her legs within the blanket. "It's called a towel, colonel. A towel. You use it to dry ones hair." The Marines, enjoying the banter and her ripping on a senior officer without repercussions, snorted.

"Oh, I'm sorry, princess..." Cameron whipped his head up and leaned forward. "I would have thought of finding a towel if I had an arm or a leg free but someone was wrapped around me like a vine!"

Scowling, she clamped her mouth shut and then opened it, glaring. "I... was cold. Daniel was busy. Which left you. The only person left in the room."

The jumper had gone through the gate without either of them noticing. As the doors opened, the rest of Atlantis began hearing the yells coming from the jumper.

Sheppard, who was waiting for them, instantly heard the voices. "Lorne," he spoke into his communicator. "What's going on? Do you have a situation?"

Muffling his laughter, he replied "No, sir. I mean, yes, sir. Uh... Keller and Cameron had a little disagreement. I think they're working it out on their own." Lorne watched the Marines reluctantly jump out of the jumper. Cameron followed them, wrapped in blanket with his hair sticking up in all directions, yelling at Jennifer over his shoulder, and then stomped his feet across the room as he made his way to the infirmary to be checked out. Daniel helped Jennifer down as she clutched the blanket around herself. Meeting Sheppard's curious gaze, she let out an aggravated scream and pointed at him.

"I am NOT going off world with that idiot again," turning to go to the infirmary herself, she remembered something. "And YOU," she banged her finger into his chest. "Stay OUT of my business. I've already talked to Ronon and Lorne." Seeing him understand, she nodded. "Yeah, I know all about your idiotic schemes, colonel."

Watching her leave, Sheppard looked up at Woolsey and just shrugged. "Lorne," he asked. "What happened to our sweet CMO?"

Clearing his throat and standing next to Ronon, he grinned. "I think our little sis is growing up, colonel."

Sheppard laughed. "And growing mighty attracted to a certain SGC colonel." Then he turned, muttering about locating some transfer order request papers. "May as well start on them now."


	8. Chapter 8

The next two missions had little to no problems. Sheppard claimed it was a miracle.

Despite promising never to go off world with Cameron again, Jennifer calmed down after a long, hot shower and venting session with Laura. On their missions or when they were together on Atlantis, the pair avoided each other but were cordial with one another. On missions, they were professional but not overly friendly.

On their fourth mission, Mitchell decided to let go on his vow to not let her out of his sight and paired up with Daniel while Ronon and Jennifer stayed in the village with the healer. The mission on the trip was simple. Learn local healing methods, make friends with the villagers, propose a treaty, and head back to Atlantis. Since the mission was going according to plan, Daniel asked Mitchell if one of the elders could show them some of the historical records they had in an underground room below the chapel. Agreeing, he decided to accompany him.

"Daniel, I just don't get it," he sat, leaning back on a chair while Daniel sorted through some books. "Why doesn't Keller like me? I mean, from the moment I stepped through that gate and walked into the infirmary, it just went downhill. Sure, we had a couple friendly moments. But lately, she's just downright confusing."

Not waiting for an answer, he stood up and began roaming the room. "I mean, I admit. The whole first meeting her did not go very well. But you would think that someone could give you another chance after that?"

Setting a book down, Daniel didn't look up but had an amused expression on his face. "Hmmm.... You know, there's also the embarrassment factor of our mission when we had the gate problem. Then you were going to chop off her hair, which is a big no no to any woman in any galaxy." He went on. "In your defense, Cam, I think you were just plain unlucky to get caught in the cross fires of the whole Sheppard, Ronon, Lorne protective thing."

"See, I know. So what's her problem?"

Trying not to laugh at the obvious, Daniel shrugged. "Maybe you should sit down and talk with her if it's bothering you so much. I mean, we have about three more weeks of missions coming up. And we're scheduled to stay a few more months." Getting an idea in his head, he pretended as if he was half into the conversation, half studying the book in front of him. "Truth is, I feel sorry for the her. She's really sweet once you get to know her, but I don't think many guys go for her since she's so smart."

"What are you talking about? Trying to play matchmaker, Jackson?"

"No, I just know that she doesn't date much, if at all, and it can be lonely. Most guys are probably put off on how smart she is, but that's not the only thing she has going for herself."

Cam stood up and paced. "No, it's not. I mean, she's cute, easy to talk to, compassionate about her work," he remembered comforting her in her office the day the young kid died. "Even when she's mad, it's pretty darn funny to watch. And she's good at what she does. I mean, you should have seen her the day we got to Atlantis and she saved that kid."

"Hmmm" Daniel murmured aloud. "Sounds like you've discovered what's bothering you about her. You're falling for Jennifer."

Cameron paused, stopping in his tracks. "I am not falling for her-"

Mitchell was interrupted with what he was going to say when Ronon came over the radio. "Mitchell. We have a problem."

"On our way," Cameron leaped up and ran out the door. It only took seconds for him to get to the place where he had left Jennifer and Ronon. He heard her yelling through the doorway.

"What kind of idiot doesn't let his wife, whom I may add is dying, take medicine?" Jennifer was seething with rage, nose to nose with a man just slightly larger than herself. A woman, sitting in a chair and looking very ill, nervously wrung her hands in her dress. Ronon began to walk closer, seeing a potential problem. "She needs antibiotics, which I'm giving you. Again, I may add. Last time we were here she had the same illness and obviously never got better."

The man began to advance on Jennifer, startling her. Cameron swore, charged through the people faster than Ronon could, and slammed the man against the wall. "You're going to need to rethink that, buddy. One hand on her and I swear there will be never left for your wife to mourn. If she would even mourn you, I'm guessing."

The man's nostrils flared, enraged he was being embarrassed in front of everyone in the room. When Jennifer agreed to help the most ill in the village while they were there on a routine visit with their allies, many people showed up in the makeshift clinic. "Then maybe you should tell your woman to mind her own business. No woman should be working for anyone except her husband. It's a disgrace to your people," he glanced over to her, spitting in her face.

Something snapped in Cameron's brain. Grabbing the man by the front of his shirt, he plowed his fist into his jaw, sending the man slumped into the corner. His wife screamed but didn't make a move to help the man. Mitchell looked disappointed it only took one punch to shut the man up.

"Keller, pack up," he said. "We're leaving."

With a rag someone handed her, she wiped off her face. Disgusted, she rummaged through her bag. "Give me one minute."

Cameron was still enraged. "Doc, if this man wakes up, I can't promise I won't do permanent damage to him. You have 30 seconds."

She rummaged through her bag and handed the woman a bottle of antibiotics. "Look. If you don't finish this bottle, you're going to get worse. Even die. You need to take this. Hide them."

The woman nodded. Walking over to Jennifer, she bent low. "I'm sorry, miss, about my husband. You were only trying to help me."

Jennifer brushed off the apology. "My advice? Don't make his excuses." Turning to Cameron, she nodded. "Done."

Daniel had come in just as Mitchell sent the man flying. Rejoining the three of them, he looked over at them. "And just when I thought our luck was changing."

They walked back to the gate in silence. Both Mitchell and Keller still looked angry, mulling over their thoughts. Finally, Jennifer exhaled loudly and fell back to walk next to Cameron.

"Thanks," she said, looking at him. "For your help. Back there."

Surprised she wasn't angry at him for nailing the guy, he nodded. "Just wish I could have got a few more in."

She grinned. "Don't tell anyone, but me to. I mean, that guy practically fell over with just one itty bitty punch."

"Hey now," he said. "That was no girly girl punch I threw." Seeing she was kidding, he laughed. "My hand is killing me."

Jennifer stopped, reaching for his hand to examine it, forcing Ronon and Daniel to stop walking as well. Bending his fingers, she was satisfied nothing was broken except for the knuckle that split. Rummaging for a bandage, she began to clean the wound.

Ronon laughed. "Never admit when the hand hurts," he called over, sitting down while they finished. "It kills it for the ladies."

"Hey, I'm not trying to impress anyone here," Mitchell shot back.

Ronon and Daniel just looked at each other, rolling their eyes.

"I thought," Jennifer said. "There are ways to avoid getting hurt when you punch someone. Shouldn't you have thought of that?"

Mitchell winced at the alcohol she poured on the wound. "Yeah. Didn't think much. Just reacted." He didn't want to say much more. Remembering the moment when the man's spit flew onto her face, all he thought about was killing the man.

"What are they talking about?" Jennifer demanded, no longer smiling. Ronon and Daniel seemed to be glancing their way and laughing about something. Well, Daniel was, but Ronon seemed a little amused.

Daniel just grinned. "You know, I'm enjoying this. Do you know," he said, "how much Cameron messes with me over Vala? Now I get my chance." He got up as they began walking again. "Keller and Mitchell, sitting in a tree," Daniel hummed the last part.

"Whoa, Jackson, you're totally off on this one," Cameron began to understand where this was going.

Jackson was on a roll. "OK, just don't let us interrupt. Ronon, I don't know what's worse. The avoiding each other, the fighting, which I admit, can be quite entertaining... always using last names and titles, never using their first names. The flirting, the-"

"We are NOT flirting, Daniel," she marched over and slapped him on the head.

"So you say," he sang out. "So you say..."

* * *

After the post-mission briefing, the team went back to their rooms and showered. They agreed to meet back for lunch in an hour.

"Hey Ronon," Daniel said into his communicator, opening up a private channel. "How about we grab something from the kitchen and go see what Sheppard's doing."

Ronon's voice came through. "How come?"

Laughing, Daniel turned so that he could get to the mess hall early to avoid Jennifer and Cameron. "It will give the love birds some time to talk."

There was a pause. "OK. Meet you there."

* * *

"Where are Daniel and Ronon?" Jennifer questioned as they awkwardly stumbled through conversation.

"I have no idea," Cameron looked around, desperate for his friend to walk through the door. _Ok, this is getting out of hand. Talk to her. _"Look, doc. I mean," he stopped. "Jennifer," he used her first name for the first time. "I know things that Daniel said probably made things a little weird."

Blushing furiously, she stabbed her lettuce. "Yeah, tell me about it."

"So you know... and I know... there's nothing between us. Right?" He asked, almost half hoping she would correct him.

Looking up, her eyes seemed a little bright. _Was she hoping that I would say something else?_

"Right," she said, breaking eye contact with him. "Nothing. Everything is fine."

Cameron's breath hitched. "Because if there was something... that you maybe would want to tell me. You could. You know." _Nice, Cam. Nice way to sound like a loser._

"Nothing," she said a little too quickly. Absolutely nothing. _Yeah, like there would be any chance he feels the same way about you. You've been nothing but an emotional basket case since meeting him._ Feeling hurt and wanting to prove that she wasn't going to mope, she stood up. "Actually, yes. There's something I need to tell you."

"Really?" Cam asked, hopeful.

She brushed her hair out of her face. "It's about tonight. I won't be able to make movie night. I have a date."

He stood quickly, watching as she went to empty her tray. Grabbing his and running after her, he called out. "A date. Really?"

She stopped. "Yes, really. A date. With a man." Getting angry, she walked towards him, lowering her voice. "Men do actually ask me out on occasion. Is that OK with you, Colonel?"

Getting angry himself, he followed her in the hallway. "Yes. No. I mean... who is he? Anyone I know?"

"No," she shot back. "As if it's any of your business."

"Well, what about Ronon? Does he know about this date? And Sheppard," earning a death look, he continued. "Lorne? Who knows this guy?"

"I don't have to clear my dates with anyone, especially you," she practically was half stomping, half charging through the corridors. Her voice was getting louder and a few personnel stopped to stare at the CMO.

Mitchell grabbed her, forcing her to stop. "Yes, you do. I'm your commanding officer."

She snorted out laughter. "Please. I'm not military, remember? Therefore, I don't fall under your chain of command. Colonel."

Reaching her room, she opened the, spinning around before closing it. "Excuse me. I need to get ready." With that, the door shut in his face.

Angry, he spun around and hunted down Sheppard. Finding him with Ronon and Daniel, he glared at the men.

"Lunch? Remember?" Cameron spit out, slamming down in a chair.

"Ah, sorry, Cam. Forgot," Daniel lied. "Something wrong?"

If steam could pour out of Mitchell's ears, it would fill the room. "She has a date." He pinned down Sheppard with a look. "Who is it?"

"Hey," John held up his hands knowing full well who Mitchell was talking about, looking at Ronon. "We stay out of her business now. It's part of self-preservation. Do you know how rough she gets in the infirmary if she hears anything about us know? And how big some of those needles can get? Not to mention when she forces you to walk around in those gowns with the butt flap wide open for all to see. No thanks. Staying out of her business."

"Are we talking about Jennifer?" Daniel asked, amused.

Mitchell's silence confirmed it. Lorne, walking in, saw Mitchell's red face and raised his eyebrows. "What happened?"

Sheppard grinned. "Seems Mitchell is unhappy about one of his crew members going on a date tonight."

Ignoring Sheppard, Cameron looked at Lorne. "Know who it is?"

The major shook his head, who also immediately knew who he was talking about. "But I can find out." Turning on his communicator, he opened a channel. "Lt. Cadman, come in."

There was a moment of silence. "Yes, sir. Cadman here."

"Please report to the secondary meeting commonplace, immediately."

There was another moments pause. "Sir? Anything wrong?"

"Just report, Lt. Over." Lorne sat down. "She'll tell us."

They waited for Cadman to arrive. In a few minutes, she entered the room. Glancing around, feeling a little disappointed Lorne wasn't by himself, she looked at her CO. "Sir?"

"Mitchell wants to know who Jen is seeing tonight. She said she has a date but won't tell him who it is."

Cadman looked confused. Looking at Mitchell's angry face, she slowly began to smile. "Ah. Yes. Date. Umm... Jen and I haven't seen each other in a few days." That part was true. She was trying to quickly pick up what was happening. Getting an idea of what her friend has done, she laughed. "How about I go talk to her and see if she'll swing by with him to movie night?"

Lorne spoke up. "Good idea. Right, Cameron?"

The idea of seeing her with someone made his fist clench. "Sure. Just dandy." He stood up and marched out of the room, still radiating anger off his body.


	9. Chapter 9

Laughing all the way to Jennifer's room, she pounded on the door. "Open up, Jen."

The door opened and Jennifer looked like she was going to have a panic attack. "Thank GOD!" Jennifer paced the room. "You'll never guess what I just did. I'm such an idiot."

"No, it's actually quite a good idea," Laura said, jumping on the bed. "I hear you need a date tonight?"

Jennifer stopped and looked at her friend. "How in the world did you find out about this?"

Laura had already decided to not reveal the entire truth to her friend. "Oh, we were just talking about movie night. Mitchell mentioned you were not coming and I asked why."

In a panic still, Jennifer plopped next to her friend, face down on the bed. Screaming into a pillowing, she punched into the bed. "What am I doing to do? If no one sees me with a guy tonight, I'm going to look like a moron who had to lie that she had a date...." Jennifer closed her eyes. "Because I am a moron who doesn't have a date."

"So," Laura said, looking amused. "Why did you lie about that?"

In a huff, Jennifer rolled on her back. "He just made me mad. I wanted to show him that some guys do actually find me attractive. I mean, I have had offers come up. A few. But maybe more, since Sheppard and the guys supposedly scared off some of them."

Laura got up and went through Jennifer's closet. Finding the pair of jeans she was looking for, she winked at her friend. "Go put on some makeup, and then do your hair. Lots of curls. Pin some of them up. And change into these jeans. They are super cute. And show off your tush."

"What?" Jennifer asked, confused.

"Just do it. I'll be back in about 20 minutes with a shirt for you to wear. And a date lined up for the night." Leaving Jennifer alone in the room.

* * *

Laura went into the training room, knowing full well she would find a bunch of men there. Smiling at them, they were distracted enough to pause what they were doing and look over at her. She boldly made her way around the room, watching each of them as they worked out. _Ok. Let's see. I need someone tall. Lots of muscles. Nice, but not too smart. No. No. No. Hmmm... he should do just fine._

"Excuse me, colonel." She walked over to him, smiling sweetly, deliberately mistaking his rank. "Can I talk to you a second?"

The men hooted for their friend, slapping him on the back. All of a sudden, the men's voices died down and they went back to their workouts. Turning, Laura saw Evan enter the room. Groaning that her plan was about to be upended, she ignored him and turned back to the man.

"Actually, I'm a major. Major Todd Evert. And I don't think we've met." The man with killer blue eyes looked down at her, grinning. Noticing Evan staring at them in the corner of her eye, she motioned him to follow her. There was no way he would follow them out the door and be so obvious.

Pulling the man into a room off the main training room, she looked up at him. "My name is Cadman. Laura. And no, we haven't met. But I was wondering if you would be interested in going on a date tonight with my friend? Just a meal in the mess hall and a movie with Mitchell's team and a few of us afterward."

Looking slightly disappointed it wouldn't be with her, he shrugged. "OK, who is your friend?"

"Dr. Jennifer Keller." The eyes widened on the Marine's face.

"Yeah, no. Sorry. I've heard she's off limits." Turning to leave, she caught him.

"Actually, that's all over with," she laughed. "You see, Jen found out about it and read Sheppard's boys the riot act. Now anyone can date her. Wouldn't you like to be the first? Or are you too scared?"

Seeing the challenge set before him, the man narrowed his eyes. "Marines don't back down."

"Amen to that, brother," she slapped his hand. "So, are you still interested?"

He thought for a second. "The doc isn't bad on the eyes. She did my physical when I got here a few months back." He grinned. "Sounds good. Where should I meet her?"

Thrilled that it was that easy, she grinned. "Come by her room in about an hour. It was nice to meet you, Todd."

Exciting the room and rounding the corner of the hallway, she slammed right into Evan's chest. He steadied her but didn't let her go, forcing her to stay in his embrace.

"Cadman," he said. "I didn't realize you knew Major Evert."

"Umm.. yeah. Todd and I met awhile ago." _Awhile ago as in a few minutes ago. _Squirming to get away from him, she stopped and looked up.

"Major," she asked sweetly. "Was there something you needed? Because I'm pretty sure the guys in there are going to wrap up soon and wonder what we're doing?"

He held on for another minute, not caring who saw them. "You're up to something."

She laughed but it didn't come out just right. After months of developing a serious crush on the man who was currently holding her, she tried to come up with a joke but couldn't. She stopped struggling and finally just looked up at Evan. And she saw. She saw in his eyes that he felt this tug too. Frustrated, she looked him in the eye. "If I am, why do you care?" She challenged.

Evan caught himself. Instantly releasing her, he backed away. "I don't know." Turning, he moved to walk away from her.

Muttering, she turned herself. Knowing he could probably hear her, she threw caution to the wind. "Just trying to get someone to make a move. You wouldn't know anything about that. Sir." With that, she jogged back to Jennifer's room, leaving Lorne standing there in the hallway, confused.

* * *

She was a nervous wreck. Pacing her her jeans and a t-shirt, she had finished her makeup and hair before Laura had returned. Hearing her door open, she turned. "Laura, maybe this wasn't such a good ideas."

Still miffed from the scene with Evan, Laura rolled her eyes. "Come on, Jen. Live a little. Will it hurt to go on this itty bitty date? And I already told the guys you would stop by movie night and catch some of it with us."

Throwing the shirt at Jen, she watched her friend carefully take off her shirt and tug the shirt down. "We're not the same size. Where did you get this?"

"I bought it for you the last time I was back home," she said, eying her friend critically. The top was blue, which brought out her eyes. It had a slightly lowered neckline and was tank style, but the extra material gave it a more softened, dressier appearance. The back, however, was bare except for a loose piece of material that swayed when she walked towards the bottom.

"I can't wear this? How am I going to wear a bra?" Jen looked more panicked than she did before. Looking in a mirror, her light pink bra poked out.

Rolling her eyes, Laura helped her friend. "It's because there's a bra built into the shirt. Take yours off. I forgot about it."

Reaching behind and unfastening it, she pulled it through her sleeve. Starring down at her chest, she was satisfied the built in bra did in fact cover and hold everything in. Not that there was much, she thought.

"Now for the shoes," Laura said. "They match the top."

Jen sat down and for the first time perked up. "Seriously, girl, you have great taste." The shoes matched the shirt, were spiked heals and showed off Jen's freshly painted toes.

"When did you redo your toes?" Laura asked, beginning to pin up Jen's hair. She only had to pin up a few strands to give it a cascading look down her back. It looked perfect on her. Not overly done, looking very soft and natural.

"Just now. You took forever and it calmed me." Jennifer spun in the mirror. "Not bad." Then she started thinking again. For a moment, in her mind she had pretended she was getting ready for a date with someone else. A very good looking colonel, to be exact. Sighing and having second thoughts, she looked at Laura for help.

"How am I going to pull this off? And who did you bribe to go out with me?" Jennifer slumped in a chair, feeling deflated.

"That's it," Laura said, jumping off the bed. "Look into this mirror. Dr. Jennifer Keller. Single. Late 20's. Incredibly hot. Smart. Funny. And to top it off, you have that little innocent look about you. Drives guys nuts. They want to protect you. Or, if you're lucky... corrupt you. Now, the hot guy that jumped at the chance to date you is named Major Todd Evert. Very tall, very built, and very interested. He'll be here in about 10 minutes, so finish up anything else you have to do and have fun."

Not able to hold in the laughter, Jennifer relaxed. "OK, I guess I'm ready." Putting on silver hoop earrings and a walking through a small spray of her favorite perfume, she said goodbye as Laura left. Feeling guilty about only wanting to go out with someone just to prove a point, she jumped when she heard the bell chime to her room.

"OK," she murmured. "Show time."

* * *

Dinner with Todd was nice. She had to admit she was having a good time. Embarrassed by the shocked looks she was getting from people in the mess hall that not only was she on a date, but wearing something totally undoctorly, she was only glad not to see Mitchell, Sheppard, and the others.

Todd hung on to every word she said. He was polite, charming, and had Jennifer laughing. But as much fun as she was having, Jennifer realized that she felt nothing towards him. No attraction. None. Cursing herself when her thoughts kept going back to Cameron, she tried to focus on finding anything about Todd that would help her feel something.

Giving up, she sighed. He took that as her wanting to leave and get to Sheppard's room.

"How about we head on over to the movie?" he asked, carrying her tray. Sensing she wasn't very excited about going, he raised his eyebrows. "Or, if you want, we could just take a walk around the city."

Knowing full well that Laura would kill her if she didn't make an appearance, she glanced down at her watch. They would probably be starting in a few minutes, so there was no excuse not to go.

"No, I promised Laura," she smiled at him. "Dinner was nice, though. I haven't ate with anyone except my temporary team in the past few weeks."

Leading her out of the cafeteria, they walked towards Sheppard's room. "Wish I was lucky enough to have had you placed on my team. Sheppard just promoted me to lead the new twelfth team." He smiled down on her. "So how do you like working with them?"

She chose her words carefully. "We work well together. It took a little getting used to the guys from the SGC, but they have been a great help to us."

"Hey, I heard you were matched with Mitchell," he said. Todd didn't notice her shocked look. "And Dr. Jackson. Did you know I used to work at the SGC and was one of their back up teams that went with them occasionally? It's good to know you're paired up with them. They're the best."

"Yeah," she said in a small voice. "OK, here's Sheppard's room. We don't have to stay long if you need to leave soon."

He grinned. "Are you kidding? I'm on a date, with the one and only Dr. Keller who just recently was released from the "no touch" command directly from Colonel Sheppard. Which I don't blame him... you probably would have been bombarded with idiots constantly if they hadn't done that. You're incredibly beautiful," he smiled when she blushed. "And very sweet. And now I'm about to hang out with the coolest people on Atlantis. Sure. Like I would want to end this any time soon."

Shyly smiling at his compliments, she opened the door to find everyone had already arrived. Noticing the new arrivals, Sheppard stood up. "Ah. Keller, we almost gave up on you." He looked at Todd. "Major. Didn't realize you knew the doc."

"Actually, we just-" Todd started to say when Laura jumped up.

"Hey, guys, Daniel and I saved you a seat over here."

Startled at her friend's interruption, Jennifer walked through the door while Todd followed her. Mitchell kept his eyes on the couple and about smashed his pop can when he saw Todd's hand on her bare back, guiding her around the room. They sat down, only having a small amount of room due to the amount of people who showed up, practically sitting on top of each other. Jennifer looked embarrassed while Todd seamed to be enjoying the closeness.

"Hey, Ronon. Scoot over and make room," Mitchell growled out. Ronon began to move over, giving the couple more room. Thinking he solved the problem, he looked over to find Todd's hand covering Jennifer's small one on the floor. He ground his teeth.

"Problem, Mitchell?" Sheppard whispered.

Cameron ignored him. "Start the movie, Sheppard."

Meanwhile, Lorne seemed to be ticked off about something too. Curious, Mitchell followed his gaze to find him starring at Laura and Daniel. They were both whispering on the floor together, shoulder to shoulder, and laughing about something.

Sheppard noticed as well. "You know," he murmured to both of them. "Life on Atlantis seemed to be less... complicated... a few months ago." He rolled his eyes. "I mean, you could cut the tension here with a knife between to the two of you."

Lorne, taking his eyes of Laura, shook his head. "No problem here. Sir."

"Oh, don't get snarky with me, major, and cut that "sir" crap. You're not her CO, Ev, so what's the hold up?"

Ronon looked around at everyone. He was pretty sure he was the only one watching the movie. Daniel and Laura were giggling. Jennifer seemed distracted, Todd looked like he was enjoying the company more than the movie and kept whispering over to her every few minutes. Mitchell and Lorne were PO'd about something. And Sheppard looked half disgusted with everything. Shrugging his shoulders, he figured it would get him more popcorn out of the deal.

Evan, in the mean time, darted a look at Sheppard. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"And you," Sheppard said to Cam. "You let a major cut in and get with the doc. And don't tell me you're not interested. I'm not as dumb as Lorne over here thinks I am."

Lorne and Mitchell, both furious, looked at Sheppard.

"Hey," he shrugged. "I'm just a silent observer."

Lorne snorted. "Silent. Sure."

Cameron didn't watch a bit of the movie. He had the advantage of being in the corner of the room and could see every movement Todd made. He watched the man's hand move from her hand, to touching her bare arm occasionally. When he saw her shiver, he about jumped out of his seat.

"Sheppard, where are your sweatshirts?" He asked. Sheppard motioned they were in the cabinet on the right of Cameron. Pulling one out, he threw it to Lorne. "Give this to Jen. Now."

Confused, he walked over and handed over the shirt to Jennifer. Mitchell noticed that Todd seemed a bit disappointed when she pulled it over her head, but he helped her into it anyways.

"Seriously, she's a big girl. She can dress herself," he muttered, earning a snort from Sheppard, who had overheard.

When the movie was finally over, Laura leaned over to Todd. "Hey, Todd, do you mind if I walk Jennifer back to her room? I need to talk to her," she said. "You know, girl talk. She can see you at breakfast tomorrow."

Sighing a relief that he wouldn't be walking her, and possibly expecting a goodnight kiss, Jennifer wanted to hug her friend. "Yeah, I'll see you in the morning. Thanks, though. I had fun tonight."

Although he looked disappointed, he agreed. Shaking hands with the guys, he left the room. Cameron noticed that Jennifer was avoiding eye contact with him. She pulled off the sweat shirt and gave back to Lorne.

"Thanks, Ev," she said.

"It wasn't mine or my idea, it was-" Lorne said, but Sheppard slapped him on the back.

"It was mine. See, doc, I'm paying you back for the bad time I gave you when I was stuck in the infirmary."

Jennifer and Laura waved goodbye and went in the opposite direction. Daniel left as well behind them.

Mitchell glanced at Sheppard, surprised. "What?" He asked Cameron. "It was mine. And I felt sorry for you." He sat back down on the bed, stretching his leg, which was still incredibly sore at times. "Hey, the bright side is that she didn't walk back with him. Think of all the possible outcomes of that, son."

Lorne muttered, "I would have followed him. Even if he didn't. Laura can kiss my-"

"Did I hear my name?" Laura said, re-entering the room. She looked like she was searching for something. "Ah. Here it is. Daniel left his watch. I'm going to meet him in the mess hall in a second. Jen's going back to her room. Anyone care to join us?" She looked at Cameron, mischievously.

He stood up. "Nope. Turning in early. Lorne, will, though. He just was saying how hungry he was. Night, everyone." He smirked at her crestfallen expression and from Lorne's look. Cameron quickly caught up with Jennifer, memorized by the sight of her bare back and the jeans she was wearing. And the shoes. It made her at least four inches taller.

"Hey," he said. "Can I walk you back?"

She looked surprised to see him. Figuring Laura had something to do it, it made her even more annoyed. "Sure. Fine."

They walked in silence. "So," he began. "Have a nice time tonight?"

Knowing full well that was a loaded question, she smiled sweetly. "Yes, in fact, I did. It was refreshing to eat with someone new for a change."

"Yeah," he muttered. "I'm sure it was. So are you planning on seeing him again?"

Jennifer stopped. "What business is it of yours?" She closed her eyes as she, again, noticed people stopping in the corridor. If this kept up, she was never going to be taken seriously as the CMO.

He followed her into her room, shutting the door behind him. Raising his voice, he stood with his hands on his hips. "It's my business when one of my team member's shows up to movie night HALF DRESSED with a pair of snug jeans on, and another officer is hanging all over her. I'm surprised Sheppard didn't kick the idiot out of the room and reprimanded him."

Enraged, she yanked her earrings off and sat down the pull off her shoes. "I am NOT half naked. And even if I was, you have no right to follow me back into my room and go on and on about stuff you don't know about."

He watched her struggle with one of the straps on her shoe. Trying to twist her long leg onto the bed, he walked over and put the shoe on his thigh. Unclasping the shoe, he tugged it off pulled her off the bed.

"Look," he said calmly. "You know as full well as I do that you're not at all interested in the major."

"Todd," she seethed. "He has a name. And yes. I will be going on more dates with him. Because finally... FINALLY... I have been given permission by the idiotic military ranking officers that I may have a life like everyone else and can occasionally feel like a girl again and go on dates."

They both stopped when her chime rang. Cameron stomped over to the door and yanked it open, expecting to see Laura standing there. Instead, he was face to face with Todd.

"Ah.. I must have the wrong...Ah... and I don't. Wow. Didn't see that one coming," Todd worked up a smile. "But I should have. Sorry to interrupt. I was just here to make sure Jennifer got back and to ask about tomorrow night. But how about I stop talking about that and let you both finish what ever you're.. umm... in the middle of."

Mitchell dropped his hands. He didn't understand how one woman could drive him this crazy. "No, I was just leaving." Walking out the door, he sent Jennifer a look letting her know they were not finished with this conversation.

_Wow, _she thought. _This is awkward._ Sighing, she walked into the doorway. "Todd," she started. "I'm sorry. About everything. I know what this looks like. And some of it is probably accurate, but I don't even know what's going on anymore."

He shook his head. "Hey, it's alright. I should have guessed Cadman was up to something when she pulled me into this, but in all honesty, I did have fun with you. But now that I know that's probably where it'll end, how about we just stick to being friends? Lunch, occasionally... you know, when you're sick of eating with your team?"

Working up a genuine smile, she lightly touched his arm. "You," she said, "are incredibly understanding." Standing up on her toes, she softly kissed him on the cheek. "I did have a lot of fun with you tonight. And I am truly sorry."

Leaning on her door frame, he grinned. "So. You and the colonel. Wow. Never thought I would see big bad Cameron Mitchell worked up over a woman. Especially a pretty little doctor."

Her eyes narrowed. "No. He doesn't feel that way. He's just an idiot who thinks he can control me like Sheppard and the guys did. And I'm done with that."

Laughing, he turned to make his way back to his quarters. "Jen," he said. "You need to open your eyes occasionally." Waving, he grinned. "Sweet dreams."


	10. Chapter 10

Jennifer slept poorly the next few nights. Taking a long shower one morning, she just barely was dressed and had minimal make up on when Laura arrived at her door with Todd in tow.

"Uh, hi, guys," she looked up, questioning why there were both there. "What's up?"

Laura laughed. "We're here to bring you to breakfast. Todd and I have a chat this morning. I mentioned you never eat, so we decided to come drag you to the mess."

Agreeing to go down, they walked together and eventually got their food. Sitting at a far table away, Jennifer hadn't noticed that Sheppard, Lorne, and Mitchell were eating already until they already picked a table. Following her gaze, Laura looked at her innocently. "Want to join them?"

Shaking her head, Jennifer sat down next to Laura with her back to the guys. Todd moved to sit across from them. Looking up, he noticed Mitchell's glare. Lorne didn't look to happy either.

"So," he said. "Although this is much more entertaining and you both are certainly far better looking than the guys I usually eat with, am I throwing my career out the window by sitting here? Because..." he stopped to chew, "I'm getting a death look from a colonel and there's a very unhappy major also looking like he's not too thrilled with at least one of us."

Laura began to turn around until Jennifer stopped her midway. "Stop," she hissed. "Can we just get through one meal without an incident?"

Todd grinned. "As messed up as this all is, I think I've got everyone's story straight. Actually, probably better than the both of you." He stabbed one of Jennifer's strawberries and popped it into his mouth. She didn't even notice. "Eat, doc. You have a mission in a few hours."

Jennifer groaned. "Don't remind me," she pushed her tray forward and put her head down. Moaning, she closed her eyes. "When did everything get so complicated?"

"Hey," Laura stomped on her foot. "Head up. And he's right. Eat. You know I'm on the secondary team that's going with you guys today. And that's all I need is for you to go and pass out on us."

Standing up, Todd grabbed his tray. "Well, ladies. Good luck. And if I get assaulted at the door while trying to leave, please let my mom and dad know I died with dignity." Warily eying Mitchell's table, he decided that it was safe enough to send them a wave.

"Seriously, did he just wave?" Mitchell growled. "The guy has always bugged me. I just noticed that now."

Snorting with laughter, John leaned back. "I'm sure it had nothing to do with him going on a date with your doctor."

"She is not," he hissed, "my doctor. And anyways, she's not interested in him. I went and talked with her last night."

"She told you that?" John asked.

Frowning, Mitchell shook his head. "No, but I could tell."

"Well, again, at least he didn't walk her back to her room. Now that would have drove me crazy all night in your position."

Thinking back, Cameron clenched his hand. "No, but he came back. And then I left."

He moved to stand up quickly. Both Lorne and Sheppard stood and pushed him back down. "Look," Sheppard said. "This has got to stop. Before you go on your mission today, you need to sort all of this out with her. And that's an order. I do outrank you here, Cam. Head of military and all. And by my infinite wisdom of women."

Lorne was taking a sip of water and almost spit it out. "Sure. Right. Infinite."

* * *

"Jennifer," Cam called over to her as they made their way down the stairs before reaching the gate. "Can we talk?" He noticed Sheppard a few feet away watching them.

"Now what? Am I dressed OK today, colonel? Or are these pants too "snug?" she asked snidely.

Knowing Sheppard could hear but everyone else was pretty out of ear shot, he pulled her a little farther away.

She continued. "Do you want me to forgot how you barged into my room last night, shouting about clothes, embarrassing me in front of Todd. You were out of control!"

Mitchell began to defend himself when Sheppard himself blocked him from walking closer to her. "What," he bit out, "exactly is she talking about, colonel?"

Realizing she may have blown things a little out of proportion, Keller swatted his arm away. "Relax, John, that didn't come out right."

"Oh, you're allowed verbal mess ups, but I'm not?" Cameron, lowering his voice, called out.

"Hey," Sheppard said, pushing him back. He noticed a few marines looking over at the exchange with curiosity. Lowering his voice as well, he murmured to them both. "Mitchell, I don't think I made myself clear. What," he said slowly, "happened last nigh?."

"Nothing," Keller said. "He just came to my room, we fought, he helped me take off a shoe, and then Todd arrived. End of story. And stop trying to play big brother, John."

"He took off your shoe?" Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. What in the name of every Ancient Atlantian did he do to deserve this? Satisfied that he wasn't going to be forced to order a court marshal, he backed away. "Fine. If that's all there was, then please. Continue. In fact, take your time. There's only about 40 of us who are waiting on you."

"OK, I was out of line last night. I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I have a knack for not choosing my words right around you."

She looked away. "You think?" Knowing full well Sheppard was stalling the mission for them, she met Cameron's gaze. "I don't know what it is about us, but we just don't get along lately. But I'm willing.." she continued "and wanting to just start over. It's going to effect our mission and we can't risk the safety of anyone on the team because we can't get along."

"OK, then. I promise to stay out of your business. And you... " searching for the right words.

Sheppard walked forward. "Will not be so sensitive and female. Right, doc?" He smiled. "See, it just sounds better coming from me and not him? Cam, you can thank me later. Now, children. Kiss and make up," laughing when both of them looked over at him, shocked. "Kidding, kidding. Jeez. So serious. I meant, shake on it."

They both paused and then held out their hands. Taking her small hand in his, Cameron felt a jolt of electricity run through his body. Jennifer quickly looked away, so he couldn't tell if the feeling was mutual. They walked together towards the gate, noticing that Ronon, Daniel, as well as Lorne's team were waiting for them.

"Hey," Laura said, running from the side. "Was everyone waiting on me? I forgot a few things that go "boom" in case your luck doesn't hold out."

Jennifer glared at her and stepped through the gate.

* * *

The team made their way across a field. The sun was out full and strong. Laura stretched her arms, drinking in the rays.

"Could you imagine if we had a few drinks and some sand? Not to mention a few hunky pool boys. It would be so much more fun than escorting your pretty butt to the village to learn some new medicine from the boring doctor here."

Jennifer laughed. "He's not boring. I talked with him through the radio before another team returned from this world. He seemed eager to meet us."

Everyone, mostly except Mitchell and Lorne, who always were prepared for the worst, were pretty relaxed. The girls trailed behind the guys, laughing at their fantasies of being anywhere but here.

Ronon stopped. "Mitchell. I just saw-'"

Cameron was already turning, trying to both see what Ronon saw and backing up to shield Jennifer. Two separate weapons fired onto Jennifer and Laura, sending them crumbling to the ground. Ronon began firing. Cameron yelled for Daniel to get back to the gate and request back up. He began running, surprised no one was firing at him as he retreated. Ronon set off running after something he saw. The shooting stopped shortly afterward. Figuring Ronon got to them, Lorne and Cameron raced back to the girls.

Lorne felt for Laura's pulse. Sighing in relieve, he layed her back down. "Just stunned. How about Jen?"

Cameron nodded, his heart racing, cradling Jennifer's head in his lap. "Same. Why would they take down the girls and not us? Wouldn't you think they would take out the threat first?"

Suddenly, they heard the ring of weapons being charged. Out of nowhere, they were surrounded by a group of men, all pointing their guns at the two men. Lorne and Cameron both got up slowly and raised their hands.

"Step away from the women," one man, stepping forward, said. "We have no quarrel with you. These women are dressed as if they are unclaimed. We will be taking them back. You," he continued. "Will be free to go. We have already sent your big friend as well as the man who initially ran away back through the gate."

Two men stepped forward, picked up the girls, and hoisted them each up to a man on a horse to hold. Cameron felt he was back on the planet that resembled Camelot.

"What gives you the right to take them?" Cameron snapped.

Looking at the hands of the women, the man dressed most regally stared down at him. "They have no ring ornaments. Our people are grossly outnumbered. There are more men than women in our village, so we seek out women to bring back. They will make fine editions to our people."

Two men stepped forward, pointing their guns at the men. "We will escort you back to the gate where you will return with the others."

Having no other choice, Evan and Cameron turned and began walking while Laura and Jennifer were taken away.

* * *

Lorne and Mitchell kept walking until they didn't hear the galloping horses anymore. Cameron muttered to Lorne. "On three." Indicating with his hand, hidden from view from the men, he held up one finger, then two, then three. Both turned simultaneously, surprising the men, and quickly overcame them.

"OK. Now. Wait for back up or go get the girls?" Cameron asked. Knowing full well Lorne's answer, he picked up the men's weapons and threw him one. "Don't think I need to ask twice about that."

* * *

Jennifer woke up on a hard floor only to hear something ripping. She turned, and saw Laura on the floor next to her ripping something off her leg. It was flesh colored tape. Explosives.

"Cadman," she said, holding her head. "What happened? And what do you think you're doing?"

Laura didn't answer. She shushed her friend and began working. Soon, she hoped, she would have a way out of there. "Currently working on Plan A."

But there was another looming problem.

"Hey," Jen called out. "Why did they shackle my foot and not yours?"

Laura shrugged. "They probably thought I wouldn't escape without you. Fat chance of that happening, girlfriend," she joked, trying to not panic Jen. She went to the doors and began lining them up with explosives. Hearing a noise, she backed away and sat next to Jen.

The doors opened and both Cameron and Evan were shoved in. A priest followed behind them, pausing to speak with the guards.

Cameron walked over to the ladies. "Everyone OK?"

"Yes, just great, colonel. I love being locked up in a prison after being stunned in the middle of a freaking beautiful day. Totally ruined my pool boy fantasy I had going on," Laura muttered. "Sir."

Jennifer just nodded. He noticed her foot and bent down to see if he could somewhere get her out of it.

The priest entered the room.

"Well, we have a problem. It seems the men who were escorting you didn't want to give you both up so easily," he began.

"Gee, thanks, sirs. Nice to know we're wanted," Laura joked.

The priest looked up, surprised she would speak out that way. His eyes narrowed at her. "As I was saying, what claim do these men have on you?"

Laura sputtered. "Claim?"

Evan yanked her back, covering her mouth. "She's mine. A little fiesty, but that's how I like him."

Jennifer would have laughed at her friend's face if she wasn't so scared.

The priest looked confused. "Where is her wedding band?"

Evan looked calmly ahead. "Stolen. Just a few days ago. I'm working on getting a new one made."

"Let me see," the priest said. "If you can prove it, you both will be let go. No punishment. "

"Prove it?" Laura remarked. "How can we prove it? Are you seriously for real? What kind of quack-"

Lorne again covered her mouth, earning an approving look from the priest. "She has a small drawing on her skin. Our people call them tattoos. On her right ankle." He bent to show the man, tugging down her sock and raising her pant leg. "And a birth mark," he said, unbuttoning her shirt, almost giving Laura a heart attack. He pulled the material over her shoulder and revealed a small birth mark over her right shoulder. "Only a husband would know of this." Evan made no room left in his voice of doubt.

Buttoning up her shirt, Laura clamped her mouth shut. _How in the world did he know all that?_

"Very well," the priest said. "I will converse with the others on this matter. You, however, will probably want to tell me that her ring was stolen as well?"

Cameron shook his head, thinking on his feet. "No, not stolen. Just haven't been bought yet." Figuring he wasn't going to get away as well as Evan did, he nodded to Jennifer. "She's my betrothed."

Jennifer closed her eyes. _This,_ she thought, _was getting better and better._

"Is this true, young lady?" The priest asked.

She nodded, avoiding the priests eyes.

"Well, at least this one is more well behaved," the priest remarked. "I will return shortly. But know this," he warned. "If you are lying, there punishment is death. I trust you understand this."

The gate closed behind him. They waited until he was gone.

Cameron glanced at Lorne. "What do you think? Did he buy it?"

Laura snorted. "I sure as well didn't. Let's work on plan B. Here," she said, dropping a metal tool into Cam's lap. "Work on her chains."

"Where did you get this?" Cam asked, surprised.

Lorne muttered, "she tapes things to her body and gets it by anyone who checks. It's saved us more than once."

Cameron frantically began working on getting Jennifer loose. He could tell she was getting a little panicky. "Hey, so how's your day going?"

Looking at him incredulously, she leaned back on the wall. "Just swell, Cameron."

He grinned. "Hey, first names again. So can I call you Jenny Bean like Cadman does?"

"Absolutely not," Jennifer said, feeling herself relax a little. "So do you think this will work?"

He didn't. But he thought at least if Cadman and Lorne could get away, they would stand a better chance. "We'll see. If not, I'm not leaving you. Don't worry."

She shook her head. "Cam, if she blows the doors open, there's no point to staying here with me if you can get away."

He was silent. Looking down at his progress and seeing Lorne's gaze on him, he looked at Cadman. "You're set?"

She nodded.

Cameron sat down. "OK, plan C. Get yourselves both out of here. Keep on the radios. I don't think they've picked up on those yet. I have a feeling the priest believed us. Then figure out a way to get us the heck out of here if he doesn't end up letting us go."

Laura nodded, rushing over to hug Jen. "Sorry, girl. But we'll be back. And you're in good hands."

Jennifer nodded, wanting to cry. Cameron sat next to her, covering her body while Lorne did the same with Laura. Within seconds, the explosives sounded and they raced through the doors.


	11. Chapter 11

When the room cleared, Jennifer tried to block out the voices of the angry guards. Turning to Cameron, she looked at him.

"Thanks," she said, "for staying. You didn't have to."

He reached over and took her hand. "Yes, I did." He held her hand until the priest came back in. Standing up almost instinctively to defend her, the priest noticed how he held on to her. And that he could have escaped with the others and didn't.

He looked at them, shaking his head. "I guess your... friends... were pretty eager to leave our village, I take it?"

Cameron nodded. "The woman is a handful, as Evan said earlier. She had it rigged before we got here." He looked around. "Sorry about the damage."

The priest looked back at them. "I've changed my mind. The others do not believe your stories. But after seeing this present situation, I do not believe anyone would stay if they could have escaped unless they truly loved the person," he turned. "I will make you a deal. They will not let her leave today until she is bound in marriage. They instructed me to have you disposed of. So instead of killing you," he said. "You will marry her. In about two hours. You will stay here the night. And then, you may leave. You see, once she's married, those in charge in the village will want to have nothing to do with her."

He motioned for a guard to come in and unlock Jennifer's foot. Grateful for the ability to regain some movement in her legs, she held on to Cameron as he helped her up.

"A girl will be in shortly to prepare your woman," the priest said. "You will come with me."

Jennifer clung to Cameron's hand, not wanting to be separated. "Hey," he said. "We don't have a choice. And I think this guy is telling the truth. We're going to have to trust them. Just keep an ear out, remember." He pointedly nodded to her ear piece, which was covered by her hair.

* * *

A young girl shortly afterward came and collected Jennifer from the guards. She allowed herself to be taken to a room full of young girls, specifically trained to prepare a bride on her wedding day.

Despite being taken hostage, stunned, and now forced to marry, she couldn't help but enjoy the luxurious bath she was currently enjoying. A girl washed her hair and wrapped it in a cloth.

"Your hair is shorter than most, madam," the girl said softly. "You are not from around here."

Jennifer shook her head. "No, I'm not." She was curious about the girls. "Is this where you live?"

They all shook their heads. "We are maidens, kept separate from the men here in the village and any married woman. It's to preserve us until we are betrothed and married. We're brought here at age 12 and educated here in the Priest's chapel."

Trying not to react, she allowed them to dry her hair and use instruments from the fire to roll the strands into soft wavy curls.

"I think this dress will do," one girl approached her. "This will please your betrothed very much."

Wondering how Cameron would react to seeing her in a dress, she laughed. "Yes. He's not used to seeing me in much other than this uniform."

The girls were puzzled. "Uniform?"

Jennifer stopped, wondering if she said something wrong. "Uniform. I'm a doctor. A healer to my people."

The girls began exchanging glances. "In our village, only men are healers. And they are to remain unmarried. As a priest is. Because of the nature of the job."

"Well, my people believe differently," she said, firmly. "Now, where's this dress I've been hearing about?"

The girls were more quiet as they prepared Jennifer for the ceremony. They dressed her hair and pulled the long, formal gown over her head. It was made of white lace.

"Did one of you make this?" she asked.

"Yes," a smaller girl said. "It took an entire year. I'm happy that I'm able to see you wear it."

Standing in front of the mirror, Jennifer couldn't imagine a more beautiful gown and told the girl so. Pleased, the girl stayed by her side loyally as the rest of the girls quietly finished their work.

The priest knocked on the door. "Is the woman ready?"

The girls bowed, nodding their heads. Jennifer was led out of the room and down the stairs, where she met a very stunned Cameron Mitchell.

* * *

The priest began the ceremony. It was similar to a wedding ceremony on Earth, except there was no interaction between the priest and the couple in front of him. After a ring was provided by the priest, he instructed Cameron to place it on Jennifer's hand. It completed the ceremony, leaving Cameron a little disappointed. Ending it with a kiss would have been much better.

They were separated again afterward. The young girl who had loyally stood by Jennifer's side during the preparations brought her to a bridal room. It was beautiful. A fireplace blazed in the corner of the room. A large bed was in the middle, complete with soft, luxurious fabric layered on top. There was a chair next to it, upholstered beautifully with a golden material. It was like no room Jennifer had every seen.

The young girl helping her giggled. She helped Jennifer remove the gown and carefully wrapped it up while Jennifer replaced the gown with a long, silk nightgown complete with a matching long-sleeve floor length robe.

"You must take the dress with you tomorrow," the girl said, helping her with the robe. "To remember me."

They both turned as the door opened. Cameron, looking unsure of himself, entered the doorway as the girl gathered the dress and placed it onto a table next to the door. The girl giggled again and ran passed Cameron, closing the door behind her.

He couldn't stop starring at her. Jennifer looked incredible, sending shock waved to his system. He couldn't breath, couldn't think. Walking towards her, he reached out to her but then dropped his hands. _This isn't real,_ he thought. _Hold it together, Mitchell, and find a way out of here._

Jennifer began twisting her hands, looking nervous. "So," she said softly. "What's the plan?" She desperately tried to avoid thinking about what she was wearing, what this room was intended for, and who was in it. She sat down into the chair next to the fire. Her feet were bare, curled underneath her.

He walked into the room, looking for an exit. There were no windows, no adjoining rooms or door. He turned on his communicator. "This is Mitchell. Can anyone hear me?"

All he heard was silence. He repeated the message, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Cameron finally gave up. "Well," he started. "When I was brought up here, there were guards on each side of the hallway on this floor. We have no weapons. So that leaves us two choices... wait it out, since they said they would release us in the morning. Or, wait and see if the cavalry shows up."

He looked at her bare feet. "Did they leave your clothes in here?"

She shook her head. "It's back down in the first room I was in."

Cameron began pacing the room. "I don't think we're in any danger if we stay. Added to the fact that you have no shoes, will freeze in the cold, and we don't have any weapons. But if we try to leave... that could bring down a lot of possible bad situations."

"Colonel," he heard from his communicator. Motioning to Jennifer, he looked relieved.

"Glad to hear you, Lorne," he said. "We're up on the second floor, middle room. Guards on each floor, including weapons."

There was silence, then Cameron heard Lorne speak to someone. "Cadman there?"

"Affirmative. Trying to talk her out of blowing up more of this place. She's a little destructive today. Colonel... hold on. Cadman just ran into a girl in the hallway. We're just below you guys."

He heard faint voices, then Cadman's voice urging Evan to warn them.

"What's happening?" Mitchell asked.

"Sir, do you have any weapons?" Evan asked.

"No. And Jen's not dressed warm if we have to make a quick break," he said, half expecting Laura to jump on that comment. He began to get nervous. "Why?"

Lorne spoke quickly. "This girl said she overheard a few men talking, questioning the priest if you both were lying to him. They wanted to come in and question you, but he denied them. Instead, he's sending an older girl to your room right now with wood. I guess she's checking to see... ummm... yea. I guess she'll be checking to see if the marriage is real. Sir, when did you get married?"

Cameron cursed. "How long until she gets here?" He heard them questioning the girl.

"Any second," Lorne said. "She tried to warn you both but the guards wouldn't let her back onto the floor."

"Radio silence, then. I'll contact you once we're clear," he swiftly said as he yanked the buttons off the shirt the priest had provided, pulling it off. "Jennifer, I hope you're a good actress, because we're in big trouble if you're not."

Trying to figure out what was going on, she stood.

"Robe, off," he said, yanking it off her body. Gathering her into his arms, he threw her high onto the bed near the pillows. Yanking off his shoes, he leaped onto the bed, looking at her. Despite the circumstances, he had never seen anything more tempting in his life. He quickly dipped the strap of her gown off so that it was running down her shoulder, leaving it bare but not revealing anything. "Someone's coming, checking to make sure we're really.... celebrating. Let's just leave it at that."

Her eyes widened. "What?" Panicked, she gripped his shoulders. "Can't we fight them?"

"No," he said. "It's one of the older girls. And then there's the guards and no weapons. Cadman and Lorne are coming, but won't get here in time." He heard voices in the hallway. "Look, I wouldn't order you to do this but we don't have a choice. I need you to completely trust me here."

He was surprised when she breathed deep once and then nodded. She sat up for a second, hiking the gown halfway up her thigh, and then propped herself up on the pillows. Grabbing his head, she tugged him close.

"Uh, Jen?" He said, surprised. "Why does it seem like you've done this before?" He lowered himself half on top of her, a smile on his lips. This was crazy. As much trouble as they were about to be in if this didn't work, he still couldn't help finding himself grinning.

She smiled herself. "Yeah, no, even for me and my luck, this is a first. But, I'm really into the whole survival mode right now..." She stopped talking as his lips met hers. Releasing the breath she had been holding, she melted. He slowly drew out the kiss, cupping her face into his hand and running his hand down her bare shoulder. She brought her hand behind his head and began tugging him tighter against her mouth, matching each kiss eagerly. He groaned, shifting more on top of her, not even remembering or caring that someone could be coming through the doorway any second.

He rained kisses across her jaw, smiling when he heard her sigh. Giving the same attention to her jawline, her neck, he heard her intake of breath when he got to her neck. Cameron was lost, not able to think or feel anything except for the moment.

"Cam," she said, cupping his head and arching her back. In the distance, he faintly heard a knock. Thinking it was the blood pounding in his heart, he ignored it and brought his lips back to her mouth. Nibbling on her lips, he heard her mutter his name again against his lips. "Cam, the door."

He stopped, turning his head. Almost angry at the interruption, he called out impatiently. The door opened, and he made no movement to roll off of her. Noticing a girl carrying wood, he couldn't help glaring at her.

The girl looked terrified, but he saw that she pulled it together to do her job. Cam saw her rake her eyes over Jennifer, noting the hiked up gown and swollen lips from Cameron's lack of shaving. She met his gaze, curtsying. "Sorry, but I brought wood for your fire."

He chuckled, making her relax. "Sweetheart, I highly doubt we'll be needing that, but just set it down next to the door."

The girl obeyed, averting her eyes and then closed the door behind her. Cameron still didn't move off of Jennifer. Not being able to resist himself, he captured her mouth again. "She may come back," he muttered, knowing full well that the girl had been satisfied. He couldn't get enough of her, deepening the kiss. Her hands raked over his chest, his sides, and then clung to his back. He finally came to his senses after a few minutes and pulled back before he couldn't stop anymore.

Her lips were in a pout and looked tender. She was slightly red from where he had been rubbing his face across her own.

"Sorry," he said softly, rubbing her tender skin. "If I would have known..." He stopped, not knowing how to exactly to finish the thought.

Not realizing she her hands were still on his bare back, Jennifer blushed. His heart about melted. "What? You would have shaved if you would have known we had to pretend to be consummating the wedding?"

He grinned. "Yeah, something like that."

"Mitchell," Lorne's voice came through the communicator. "Mitchell. What's gong on in there?"

"Everything's fine," he said, not caring for the interruption. "The girl left." Reluctantly, he gazed one last time into her eyes, hoping for any indication she felt the same as he did about her. If she was really acting her way through that, he would be crushed. Cameron sat up, swung his legs over the bed, and then helped her up.

Lorne came through the speaker again just as Jennifer put hers back on. "Did she seem convinced?"

The both looked at each other, standing a short distance away from one another. His eyes didn't leave hers. "A definite yes on that one, major."

"OK," Cadman called over the radio. "We're going to create a distraction. A loud one. It should bring the guards down and give you guys a chance to get out of there. Hang tight for a few minutes and we'll come up to you. And colonel... you're going to have to elaborate on that last comment when we get to you. I want details. Lots and lots of details."

The radio clicked off.

The silence was deafening.

Finally, Jennifer was the one to speak first. "Cam. What's going on with us? Please say that wasn't all acting for you."

His heart jumped. "If you're asking," he said, walking towards her, "if that was real or not, I think you know the answer to that."

Walking up to her and tugging her waist back against his body, her ran his hands up her arms, cupping her face, and kissing her sweetly on the lips.

"Furthermore, Dr. Jennifer Keller, I think we're going to have a long chat when we get back to Atlantis. And maybe some more of this," he said, kissing her cheek and trailing down to her neck.

The door flew open and Cameron instinctively pushed her behind him, shielding her. Laura and Evan ran through the door, with a girl in tow. Jennifer peeked around him, recognizing the young girl who had stood by her side earlier today.

"Whoa," Laura said. "Looking hot, Jen. Hmmm... hope we didn't interrupt anything. She showed us where to get your clothes." She walked over and set them on the bed. Noticing that Mitchell hadn't taken his arms off of her friend, she sent him a look. "You going to just stand there or can I help her get out of that get-up. Unless you want to-"

"Cadman," Lorne warned, listening at the door. "This is not the time."

Smirking, she rolled her eyes. "Oh, like they were taking any of this seriously anyways. They were making out when we came in." Gesturing for the guys to turn, she helped Jennifer out of the nightgown and into her clothes. "Someone needs a shave, colonel," she said, eying the red marks over her friend's face and neck. She laughed when Jennifer began to blush.

Evan looked at Cameron, shaking his head. "She is a handful. What am I getting myself in to? I don't know what's worse? Her need to blow things up or the need to give me a heart attack."

"You mean," Mitchell said, "You and Cadman are finally... uh... together?"

Evan glanced back at her and his face softened. "Yeah, it was too hard not being together than it is to be together. If that makes sense. Actually, nothing does. We blew out of that jail cell, run for our lives, we finally escape the guards... and then as we're hiding in the forest until nightfall, she breaks down and cries, saying that she wants to be transferred back to Earth so she doesn't have to see me anymore. I refused, saying I would never let Sheppard sign it, she demands why, and then... I kissed her. On a mission, with a ranking officer and the CMO locked up... every brain cell in my body just died in that moment. Nothing makes sense anymore."

"Makes perfect sense to me, major. But our current problem is getting out of here."

The girl, watching this interaction with interest, nodded towards the bed. "There's a secret passageway behind the bed. If you can pull it back, I can get the panel to move away."

Both men walked over and moved the bed away from the wall. Sure enough, the girl was able to find the hidden switch, and the wall began to move. "I can't go with you. But I'd like to give the doctor a gift," the girl moved back towards the door, picking up a package. She quickly unwrapped it, neatly folded the nightgown inside it, and rebound it. "I want you to have this... to remember today and to remember me. I hope that one day, my people will accept female doctors the way your world does. You have inspired me, doctor Jennifer."

Jennifer accepted the gift, and softly kissed the girl on the cheek. "Thank you. For everything. I won't forget you."

"You'll need to take the passageway all the way down. It will take you almost to the ring where you came from," the girl said.

They thanked her and then quickly set out to their escape. Halfway there, a surprised looking Ronon and Daniel, along with two teams, met them.

"How did you-" both groups ask. Ronon, just glad they were all OK, turned and lead the way out. He called out over his shoulder. "A man from the village told us about the passageway. We expected a full out battle to get you back. How did you guys get away?"

Cadman, grinning at her friend, was about to say something only to have Lorne cover her mouth. "Behave, young lady."

The back up teams, shocked to see Lorne teasing the lieutenant, couldn't keep up. Eying his arm that went around Laura, tugging her close to him as they walked, they also were shocked to find Colonel Mitchell holding hands with Atlantis' CMO.

A few minutes before they got to the gate, Jennifer's brain was swirling. "Cameron, who are we kidding?" They were a ways a part from the nearest person. "How are we going to make this work. We live in two different galaxies."

"Not if I transfer to yours." He said, planting a kiss on her lips. Shocked that he would suggest it, she looked up.

"You would do that for me?"

He picked her up just as Ronon opened the gate. Wrapping her arms tightly around him, she laughed.

"No, I wouldn't. But I would do it for us," he said. When they were completely through, he couldn't resist kissing her again. She blushed when she heard yells and whistles from the teams who came through with them, not to mention those watching through the control room.

Sheppard bounded down the stairs, obviously almost healed completely. "What is going on, Mitchell? Lorne?" He asked, eying the majors hand tightly gripping Laura's. "Here I am, thinking that the four of you are dead, and you come back like you're prancing off the Love Boat."

Cameron set Jennifer down. "It's like this, Sheppard. Jen and I got married. Lorne and Cadman lied, saying they were married, blew up a jail before anyone could find out they lied. Then they saved us." He laughed at John's expression. "This really shouldn't shock you at all, given who was on the mission with us." He eyed Jennifer. "Oh, and I would like to request transfer papers to leave the SGC. As soon as possible. Sir." Knowing he was pressing his luck, he studied Sheppard's face.

Surprising them all, Sheppard turned his back and walked up the stairs. "Already done, Cameron. They're waiting on my desk. Took you long enough. Cadman," he called out to her. "Same papers on my desk. Swing by after the debriefing."

Both Cameron and Evan just looked at each other. "Well," Cam said. "That was certainly easy."

Lorne snorted with laughter. "Better be. I have a feeling the real hard part is ahead of us. At least for me. Leave it to me to fall in love with a Marine who loves her dynamite."

Jennifer laughed, jumping on Cameron and kissing him hard. "Life just got a little better on our floating city."


End file.
